Kemal Karadağ
01 February 2022•Update: 01 February 2022
ANKARA
The Greek Coast Guard threw three migrants into the sea, killing one of them, Turkiye's interior minister announced late Monday.
In a Twitter post, Suleyman Soylu said that following the incident off the coast of Cesme district in Turkiye’s Izmir province, two of them were rescued while the other one died.
He added that the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) "must also be held accountable.”
Soylu also shared footage of one of the rescued migrants.
One of the migrants said Greek police took their mobile phones and money, and even though one of his relatives said he did not know how to swim, the Greek Coast Guard did not take this into account and threw them into the sea.
"The Greek Coast Guard gave us lifejackets before they left us in the sea, but they were for children and too small. They did not fit on us. My cousin said he did not know how to swim. But they didn’t listen to him. They threw us into the water and he drowned there," he said.
"His last words were: 'I can’t swim! I don’t know how to swim!’"
The migrants said that after they reached an island by swimming, the Turkish Coast Guard arrived and rescued them.
Recent months have seen multiple reports of Greek forces illegally pushing back boats of asylum seekers, endangering the passengers in the process.
Turkiye has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Turkiye currently hosts over 3.7 million Syrians, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country.
