Turkish authorities on Friday accused the Greek Coast Guard of killing at least three migrants by throwing them into the sea with tied hands, claiming that they had rescued three others alive.
“The last night, the Greek coast guards beat seven migrants, stole their belongings and tied their hands before throwing into the sea without a life jacket or lifeboat. They were left to their own devices, ” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.
The Turkish Coast Guard said they rescued three people and recovered three bodies in the Aegean Sea. “Search tasks continue to find the last missing person,” they said in a statement.
Soylu showed a video of a man presenting himself as one of the survivors, explaining that the group of migrants he was part of was detained by Greek authorities on Thursday while near the island of Chios after a trip . that started in Turkey.
‘They took our money and our phones and hit us. We were seven. They kicked us (into the sea). ‘he said in Turkish.
Another man, also depicted as a migrant, appears in this video with his hands tied with a plastic rope.
The AFP could not independently verify these statements.
It is not the first time that the Greek Coast Guard has been accused of this type of practice, but the Athenian authorities have always refuted these facts.
The Aegean Sea is one of the main routes used by migrants to smuggle into Europe.