Frontex to investigate reports of pushbacks at Greek-Turkish border
The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, said on Tuesday that it is conducting an internal investigation into media reports of pushbacks at the Greek border with Turkey.
“I informed EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson that we are looking into the accusations levelled by several news organizations related to our activities at Greece’s external borders. We aim to uphold the highest border guarding standards in all of our operations and do not tolerate any violations of the fundamental rights in any of our activities,” Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri said in an announcement on Frontex’s website on Tuesday.
The inquiry comes after a request from the European Commission for a probe into claims that border guards had prevented asylum-seekers from reaching Greek shores.
“So far, no documents or other materials have been found to substantiate any accusations of violations of the law or the Frontex Code of Conduct by deployed officers,” Frontex said in its announcement.
