Page 17 of 46 an estimated 2,157 individuals. Of 58 testimonies, 51 alleged violence during physical removal, either against the person who gave the testimony or against other persons in the group subjected to pushbacks. Allegations included physical and verbal abuse and threats, sexual abuse, and seizure of personal items. Some local and international organizations alleged, based on survivor testimony, the June 14 sinking of the overcrowded fishing boat Adriana was the result of coast guard efforts to pull the boat out of the country’s territorial waters. Judicial authorities launched an investigation into the sinking, in which an estimated 600 migrants and asylum seekers died after criminal smugglers put them unsafely aboard. The government reported the boat was in international waters at the time of the incident. On July 26, the EU ombudsperson launched an inquiry and requested access to FRONTEX (European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders) files regarding the Adriana shipwreck. In September, 40 Adriana shipwreck survivors filled a criminal complaint before the Naval Court of Piraeus. On November 10, Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis launched an independent investigation into the shipwreck after Coast Guard leadership denied his written requests it conduct a thorough internal investigation. The Racist Violence Recording Network (RVRN) reported incidents of abuse based on ethnicity, religion, or skin color as well as abuse against human Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor