The Greek coastguard has been accused of deliberately trying to sink a boat full of desperate Syrian refugees, after a video emerged appearing to show a crewman lunging at a rubber dinghy with a large pole.
The footage was reportedly captured by the Turkish coastguard on 12 November, and shows a small boat with up to 60 people on board screaming for help in dark on the Aegean Sea.
According to Reuters, the footage was released by the Turkish government this week and a complaint has been issued to Greek officials.
In the video, a man who appears to be a member of the Greek coastguard can be seen in an apparent attempt to pierce the side of the inflatable refugee boat.
As the vessel starts to sink, the Greek boat sails away, leaving the Turkish coastguard to rescue the drowning refugees. They were then taken back to the Turkish port city of Didim, the starting point for many trying to cross the Aegean into Europe.
In a message to his Greek counterpart, Commander Rear Admiral Hakan Ustem of the Turkish coastguard said: “We would be very pleased if you order your team to refrain from such acts.”
The Turkish daily, Hurriyet, reported that officials said Greek commander Athanasios Athanasopulos was “shocked” upon seeing the footage, and vowed to take action.
Human Rights Watch has previously raised concerns about attempts to disable refugee boats trying to reach Greece across the Aegean.
Unidentified “armed masked men” have been seen by multiple witnesses deliberately disabling boats and, in some cases, towing them back to Turkish waters.
“Disabling boats in the Aegean makes an already dangerous journey even more likely to result in death,” said Eva Cossé, Greece specialist at Human Rights Watch, in a report in late October. “These criminal actions require an urgent response from the Greek authorities.”
