Specifically, these are ferries that go from Bari on the Adriatic to Greece, such as Patras or Igoumenitsa. Some of the refugees were even handcuffed, reported the research team, which includes political magazine ARD Monitor, Swiss public broadcaster SRF, al-Jazeera and Dutch NGO Lighthouse Reports.
Apparently, minors are also affected. According to Dana Schmalz of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, this violates EU law and the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights. The company responsible for the ferry has denied all allegations.
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How to guarantee human rights for all?
The research team found evidence of these unofficial arrests on three ferries that bring thousands of tourists from Italy to Greece and vice versa in the summer. The refugees were kept in one of the garages. For security reasons, no one should remain there during the crossing. Testimonials and mobile phone photos of refugees in the shafts and railings were verified using traces on the walls (such as crossed out Arabic characters) and interviews with ferry staff.
“Monitor”: Makeshift Prisons
The research team reported that these were people who were forced to return to Greece from Italy without being able to apply for asylum.
As part of the research cooperation, it was possible for the first time to prove the existence of temporary arrests on passenger ships. Those affected stated in interviews that some of them were detained on their way back to Greece without adequate food or access to a toilet. For the research, the journalists spoke with a dozen illegally deported people, ferry workers, border police and experts.
Italy was already condemned in 2014
According to the research team, the refugees were deported from Italy illegally and in violation of procedural rules (pushback), with authorities sometimes using violence. Italy had already been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the setbacks in 2014. Contrary to what Rome claims, these illegal deportations did not stop or at least resumed, according to the research team.
The refugees first tried to reach Italy from the Greek port of Patras as stowaways on daily ship connections, which is both illegal and dangerous. According to the SRF, many tried to get on a ferry hiding under a truck. It’s difficult to even reach the well-protected port area.
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According to interviews with refugees who were pushed back, if they are caught unloading the ferry, they will not have the opportunity to apply for asylum. According to their own statements, cell phones, documents and clothes were sometimes taken from them and they were locked in the port for several days. Minors enjoying special legal protection would be treated as adults and would also be taken back to Greece.
Migration expert Sarah Progin-Theuerkauf emphasized to SRF that, according to the current legal situation, Italy would have to accept people and carry out an asylum procedure, for example. Because Greece is no longer considered a safe country after a corresponding verdict.
Police and ferry companies reject allegations
How many deportations take place this way is unclear. According to Greek authorities, there were 74 in the previous year and 157 in 2021. Bari Police Chief Giovanni Signer has rejected all accusations, according to SRF. Anyone who wants to apply for asylum can do so. The affected ferry company, Attica Group, also rejected the allegations. Such an approach is rejected. And in a written statement, Attica Group promised to continue investigating the allegations.
New Fronex boss wants to “restore trust”
Coincidentally, on the same day that the investigations and alleged illegal practices in the deportation of refugees from Italy were made known, the new head of the EU border protection agency, Frontex, was presented in Brussels. Frontex is under pressure because it has been repeatedly proven that Frontex has been involved in numerous illegal and sometimes violent practices, such as “responses” and violations of human rights. The new boss, the Dutchman Hans Leijtens, therefore named restoring confidence as a priority, in addition to effectively protecting the borders.
“Border protection and human rights go together,” said Leijtens. The 59-year-old assured that he wanted to ensure that Frontex officials did not take part in any actions that would lead to the repulsion of refugees at the EU’s external borders. EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said at the joint appearance with Leijtens that Frontex should also help save lives, for example in the Mediterranean.