(AP) Greece was urged Tuesday to implement stronger legal safeguards at its borders and adopt a “zero-tolerance approach to summary returns” as reports of illegal deportations of migrants continue despite mounting international criticism.
Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, issued the recommendations following a visit to Greece in February.
“The commissioner is concerned about the allegations received during his visit regarding persistent practices of summary returns — also referred to as ‘pushbacks’ or ‘informal forced returns’ — at both land and maritime borders,” the Council of Europe memorandum said.
“Returning people without carrying out an individual identification procedure prevents member states from establishing whether they may be sending them back to human rights abuses,” it added.
