Page 3 of 46 pushback operations at Greece-Türkiye land and sea borders, as well as at preremoval centers and detention facilities. NGOs advocated for the establishment of an independent government agency to investigate violence and other alleged abuses. NGOs argued that despite UN and EU reports and the January 2023 Interim Report of the Recording Mechanism of Informal Forced Returns under the National Commission for Human Rights, the country had not effectively investigated pushback claims. The government disputed the need for any additional investigating body. The government asserted existing safeguards were sufficient, including the justice system, the National Transparency Authority, and the Fundamental Rights Officer and Special Committee for Compliance with Fundamental Rights in the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. NGOs and international organizations reported authorities beat migrants and asylum seekers and took identity documents, personal effects, and money. Some reports claimed authorities left migrants and asylum seekers stranded in the Aegean Sea or in the Evros land border region without access to food, water, or medical care. On March 6, Spanish newspaper El Pais published an analysis of 374 pushback incidents involving Greek security forces on the Evros border with Türkiye. The incidents allegedly occurred between 2017 and 2022 and involved more than 20,000 persons who were forced back over the border soon after they crossed. The article stated security forces confiscated more Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor