Why this matters:

The Pylos shipwreck in June 2023, where a boat carrying up to 750 people capsized off the coast of Greece, was one of the deadliest Mediterranean shipwrecks ever recorded and shows how border operations can cost hundreds of lives. [1] Investigations raised serious concerns about the role of the Greek Coast Guard, including possible delays and failures in carrying out rescue efforts [1] - leading in May 2025 to criminal proceedings for felonies against multiple Coast Guard officials for their alleged actions. [2]

Human rights organisations have repeatedly reported serious abuse against people on the move in the Aegean Sea and along the Turkish-Greek land border. [3] Testimonies describe how boats carrying people seeking safety were attacked or violently pushed back by masked men operating with Greek Coast Guard vessels, leaving many at risk of drowning and despair. [3]

There are widespread reports of extreme violence and abuse at the borders by Greek authorities - including physical assaults, sexual violence, forced stripping, theft, and cases of drowning or death. [4]

Despite most pushbacks taking place in secret, Aegean Boat Report records show that between January 2025 and November 2025, 180 boats carrying about 5,193 people were pushed back from Greek islands into Turkish waters. [5]

Despite growing evidence, Greek authorities deny accusations of illegal pushbacks, claiming their border operations comply with international and EU law. However, in January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that Greece systematically returned migrants without individual assessment, violating key principles of the European human rights framework. [6] The European Union is under growing criticism for tolerating illegal pushbacks by Greek authorities - with its border agency Frontex involved. Between 2020 and 2023, Forensic Architecture documented Frontex’s direct involvement in 122 pushbacks and its awareness of more than 400 additional incidents. [7]

Push-backs are a tool of deterrence and externalisation - policies designed not to protect those in need, but to keep them out.

As fourth-semester students in the Master’s Programme in International Social Work with Refugees and Migrants at THWS in Germany, we stand in solidarity with people on the move. Our position is shaped by the profoundly disturbing testimonies we gathered during our summer school in Mytilene, Greece and Izmir, Turkey, where interviews with people on the move revealed systemic violations of fundamental human rights

Sign and share this petition NOW - to hold those responsible accountable for the lives lost at sea, and to stand up for the future of Europe’s promise of justice and dignity!

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[1] https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/the-pylos-shipwreck
[2] https://rsaegean.org/en/pylos-shipwreck-criminal-prosecution-for-felonies-to-17-members-of-the-coast-guard/
[3] https://rsaegean.org/en/push-backs/
[4] https://www.statewatch.org/news/2025/august/greece-illegal-violent-deportations-the-heavy-toll-of-seeking-asylum-in-europe/
[5] https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/1CiKR1_R7-1UbMHKhzZe_Ji_cvqF7xlfH/page/A5Q0
[6] https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/greece-before-the-european-court-of-human-rights/
[7] https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/drift-backs-in-the-aegean-sea