Greek coastguard’s treatment of migrants ‘clearly

BBC records former special operations chief saying abandoning people at sea was an ‘international crime’

A former Greek coastguard officer has described as “clearly illegal” the actions of colleagues who abandoned nine migrants at sea in one of 15 alleged pushbacks from Greek islands or territorial waters that reportedly killed dozens of people.

In an interview with the BBC, Dimitris Baltakos, the Greek coastguard’s former head of special operations, refused to speculate about footage the broadcaster showed him, after earlier denying the coastguard would ever be told to do anything illegal.

The investigation forms the basis for a BBC2 documentary, Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?