Türkiye rescues 60 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece

The Turkish Coast Guard on Sunday rescued 60 irregular migrants who were illegally pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greek authorities.

Thirty migrants were found stranded in a rubber boat in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Aydin province, the Coast Guard Command said on its website.

Another 30 migrants were rescued from a rubber boat off the Ayvacik district in Canakkale province, the Coast Guard Command said in a separate statement.

The migrants were taken to the provincial migration authorities, it added.

Human rights groups and media outlets have frequently reported on illegal pushbacks and other human rights breaches by Greek authorities. Survivors of a migrant boat sinking last month where 300 to 600 migrant are feared drowned, have blamed the deadly incident on a Greek Coast Guard boat trying to tow the migrant boat into Italian territorial waters.

Türkiye and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers and said it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul​​​​​​​