Turkish vessel shown pushing dinghy away

Greece on Wednesday published a video that appears to show officers of the Turkish Coast Guard hitting migrants and pushing their rubber boat away from the former’s vessel.

Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis, who posted the video on his Twitter account, said it shows the officers “violently pushing forward migrants to Greece, in violation of international law and the European Union joint statement.” Mitarakis said the video was filmed by a refugee who was saved by Greece. “It is further proof of the [weaponization] of migration flows by Turkey,” he added.

The minister did not say where or when the incident occurred. It turned out that the video, showing the migrant boat next to the Turkish vessel and migrants pleading with the coast guard officers to help them, who instead shout at them and use sticks to push them away – was an old one, from 2019.