Masked men who abused refugees likely worked ‘in concert’ with Greece

Athens, Greece – Last summer, a shocking video of asylum seekers cable-tied and blindfolded in the back of a van on a Greek holiday island went viral online. At the time, the veracity of the video was questioned and Theodosis Nikitaras, the mayor of Kos, filed a defamation case against the NGO that published it.

Now, new documents obtained from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) confirm the incident and pin the responsibility on individuals it describes as “likely working in concert” with Greek authorities.

The 44-second video was published by the Aegean Boat Report NGO on June 26, 2023, the same day the incident took place. Since then, it has been seen by more than 660,000 people on X. They included a child and many of them were Palestinians having arrived as asylum seekers from Turkey to Kos.

One woman had managed to conceal a phone in her bra and contacted the NGO via WhatsApp pleading for help. In a video she sent, the people are told to “shut up” in Greek by two unidentified men in the van after asking for the toilet.

The report details how the woman was slapped by the masked men after recording the scene. They destroyed her mobile phone when they saw her video being shared at pace online. Those detained were unable to use the toilet for the duration of their captivity and spent 16 hours in the van before being released by the masked men and apprehended by Greek police accompanied by a Frontex patrol.

The Warsaw-based body had been rattled for years by media investigations and accusations by NGOs of complicity in human rights abuses at the EU’s external borders – namely forcing would-be refugees away from a border before they could claim asylum. The practice, known as pushbacks, is considered a violation of international and EU law.