An asylum seeker, Abdullah Mohamad Isaak, pushed back by the Greek coast guard while trying to cross the Aegean Sea, plans to sue Greece for stabbing him in the back during the ordeal.
37-year-old Mohamad Isaak was among the 35 irregular migrants rescued off the coast of Turkey’s Aydın province on March 7.
This is after Greek authorities pushed their lifeboat back.
The Daily Sabah reports Isaak saying; “We went up on board from the Kuşadası district and reached Greece after three hours in the sea."
He spoke to reporters from Aydın’s Migrant Returns Center, where he was staying following the treatment for his wound.
According to Isaak, once the migrants reached the shore, their raft was stopped by five Greek coast guard officers, one woman and four men.
He added; “They all wore ski masks and took us all aboard their ship. Then they hit us with iron batons. Two of them beat me with an iron baton. Then they stabbed me.
"Then they hauled us into the raft, tugged us over to the open sea and pushed us back."
“I want to press charges. I will file a complaint. They treated us like animals. So, I want to sue Greece,” he said.
Greece has long been in the practice of inhumane and sometimes deadly practice of pushbacks, and deportations of migrants without allowing them to apply for asylum.
The country has frequently been condemned for the practice, which is a violation of humanitarian values and international law for endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants.
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