Forensic Architecture have reported more than 2,000 pushback incidents115 within the last three years on their dedicated platform,116 which allegedly occurred from 2020 to 2023 on the Greek islands,117 connected to 55,445 victims of pushbacks. Among them, 24 persons were reported as dead and 17 as missing. Illustratively, the following pushback incidents at sea were reported in 2023, documented and verified by Forensic Architecture: v An incident that allegedly happened on 21 January 2023 on Samos, verified by FA, when “9 asylum seekers landed on the North-eastern shores of Samos island, where they hid. The next day, a group of masked men arrived, robbed the asylum seekers of their belongings, tied their hands with cable ties and transported them to a cove 30 minutes’ drive away. There, the masked men forced some of the asylum seekers to strip naked and beat them with batons. One of the persons beat was a pregnant woman. The masked commando then forced everyone on a Hellenic Coast Guard vessel and subsequently cast them adrift on a life raft with no engine. The HCG vessel created waves to move the life raft into Turkish waters. Later the same day, the group was found drifting on a life raft by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Kuşadasi, Aydın. v An incident that allegedly happened on 13 January 2023 on Kos, verified by FA, when 23 asylum seekers on an inflatable boat were found drifting by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Datça, Muğla. v An incident that allegedly happened on 23 January 2023 on Lesvos, verified by FA, when 32 asylum seekers on an inflatable boat were found drifting by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Dikili, Izmir. v An incident that allegedly happened on 28 January 2023 on Lesvos, verified by FA, when 31 asylum seekers on two life rafts were found drifting by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Dikili, Izmir. v An incident that allegedly happened on 9 February 2023 on Rhodes, verified by FA, when 41 asylum seekers on an inflatable boat were found drifting by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Fethiye, Muğla. v An incident that allegedly happened on 15 February 2023 on Chios, verified by FA, when 10 asylum seekers on a life raft were found drifting by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Karaburun, İzmir. In relation to pushbacks at sea, Aegean Boat Report’s Annual Report for 2023 outlined that 1,451 boats carrying 38,993 people were apprehended by the Turkish Coast Guard and Police in 2023.118 According to this report,119 “[i]n 2023, people arriving has increased 240%, compared to 2022. 1.451 boats made it to the Greek islands, carrying 38.993 people. Boats arriving has increased 205% compared to 2022, when 476 boats arrived, carrying 11.496 people. 25.855 people has been illegally pushed back by Greek authorities. Total arrivals have increased 240% compared to 2022, and 800% compared to 2021. 3.506 boats started their trip towards the Greek islands in 2023, carrying a total of 100.406 people. 1.451 boats made the trip, carrying a total of 38.993 people, the rest, 2.055 boats, 61.413 people, were picked up and arrested by the Turkish Coast guard and Police”. In January 2024, in the annual report with incidents in 2023, Aegean Boat Report is mentioning120 that in 2023 “in 2023 Aegean Boat Report have registered 904 pushback cases in the Aegean Sea, involving 25.855 children, women and men who tried to reach safety in Europe. 20%, 5.137 people, had already arrived on Greek territory, arrested, forced back to sea and left drifting in life rafts, illegally deported by the Hellenic Coast Guard (HCG), on orders from the Greek government, so far there has been no reaction from the EU on these illegal actions. Almost 45% of all boats picked up by Turkish coast guard in 2023 had been pushed back by Greek authorities”. 115 116 117 118 119 120 Efyn, Forensic Architecture/Forensis, Μεγάλη αύξηση των επαναπροωθήσεων μέσα σε έναν χρόνο, 19 January 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3xodhvA. Forensic Architecture, platform available at: https://bit.ly/41W0slW and https://bit.ly/4d3kSAn. Article (in Greek) published on 15.7.2022 in ‘Ethnos’, Πασχάλης Γαγάνης, Έρευνα Forensic Architecture: Πάνω από 1.000 επαναπροωθήσεις στο Αιγαίο σε 2 χρόνια - «Ξυλοδαρμοί, κλοπές ακόμα και ρίψη στη θάλασσα με χειροπέδες», available (in Greek) at: https://bit.ly/3MRg9Xm. Aegean Boat Report, Annual Report 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/437xzEU. Ibid. Aegean Boat Report, Annual Report for 2023, January 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/437xzEU. 44