According to a media report, Greek police officers at the EU’s external border are apparently using refugees as henchmen for illegal repatriations. As can be seen from joint research by the ARD political magazine “report Munich” with “Spiegel”, “Lighthouse Reports”, “Le Monde” and the “Guardian” published on Tuesday, refugees have given corresponding information, which is based on photos, satellite images and official Greek documents verified.

After months of research, a team of reporters was able to speak to six men who were involved in the so-called pushbacks. Independently of one another, they stated that they had been forced into violent refusals to Turkey. In return, they were promised residence permits.

Three Greek police officers also confirmed the use of refugees to the journalists. The actions are considered so dangerous by the police that they are increasingly using refugees to protect their own officers. The Greek Ministry of the Interior and the police had left official inquiries about this unanswered by Tuesday.

According to European law, Greece is obliged to start an asylum procedure for those seeking protection who reach Greek territory. Like some other EU countries, the Greek government has been systematically ignoring this regulation for years.