06 Nov 2021; MEMO: Greece has adopted brutality against asylum seekers as a policy, German weekly Der Spiegel said.
The EU has clear rules regarding the treatment of asylum-seekers, giving them the right to apply for asylum once they are within EU territory, but Greece violates these rights, Der Spiegel noted on Thursday.
It drew attention to violent brutality and systematic pushback policy of the Greek authorities, including police, Special Forces and coast guard units, saying: "They contradict the values that European politicians consistently evoke."
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was once considered a liberal in his conservative political party New Democracy, it noted, adding that he has "radically tightened his country's migration policies" once he took over the power.
Greek border guard units killed at least two migrants when they tried to cross the Greek border in February 2020—an incident called "invasion" by Mitsotakis—Der Spiegel reiterated.
Also, despite the denial of the Greek government, which insisted that they adhered to European and international law, Der Spiegel noted that it has evidence refuting Greek counterclaims.
Calling attention to the significant drop in the number of asylum-seekers to Europe, the weekly said: "The legal violations committed at Europe's external border are not isolated incidents. They are part of a system. The EU is using force to keep refugees away."
