receives “consistent and credible allegations” of pushbacks.115 In the recent CPT Report on its ad hoc visit to Greece, which took place from 21 November to 1 December 2023, published on 12 July 2024, 116 the CPT underlines that “ […] there is sufficient evidence to conclude that pushbacks to Türkiye have taken place and continue to take place […]”. “During the 2023 visit, the CPT delegation again received many consistent and credible allegations of informal, often violent, forcible removals of foreign nationals across the Evros river or at sea to Türkiye. Such removals occurred without consideration of their individual circumstances, vulnerabilities, protection needs or risk of ill-treatment when returned (“pushbacks”)”. In September 2024, GCR submitted its written contribution to the UN Human Rights Committee, 117 in which it provided the main points and reports concerning pushback practices, practices at the borders and ineffective investigations in pushback complaints. In November 2024, GCR submitted a third-party intervention to the ECtHR in the case of Muhammad v. Greece,118 in which it pointed to the credible, consistent and numerous allegations of pushback practices at the Greek-Turkish land and sea borders and that all related domestic criminal cases “shelved”/closed at the pre-trial stage. In an August 2023 press release, a group of experts of the U.N. Human Rights Council stated that: “We urge Greece to take steps to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation into allegations of violations of the principles of non-refoulement and non-discrimination and of the right to life involving Greek law enforcement personnel, including the Hellenic Coast Guard, and border violence.” 119 In July 2023, the FRONTEX FRO issued a fourth opinion concluding that “collective expulsions at sea and land borders in Greece, accompanied by additional associated fundamental rights violations, are conducted systematically rather than constituting isolated incidents”.120 In this context, the FRO reiterated its recommendation to the FRONTEX Executive Director to trigger the mechanism to suspend or terminate FRONTEX activities in Greece, in whole or in part, unless major changes are made. 121 In 2024, the practice of refoulements continued to be used as a “front-line” tool of Greece’s migration policy, which has been described as a “de facto general policy” of “pushbacks at land and sea border” by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Migrants, as previously noted in a 2022 report, 122 to halt the flow of refugees and to deter others from attempting to irregularly cross the borders into the country. The practice is a permanent eventuality for people crossing the borders according to testimonies, media coverage and reports. Serious incidents of alleged refoulements have been reported in which arbitrary removal of people residing on the mainland or on the islands were carried out, even of a number of asylum applicants that have been already registered in the country. 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 See CPT, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 10 to 19 April 2018, CPT/Inf (2019) 4, 19 February 2019, paras. 136 seq. and Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 13 to 17 March 2020, CPT/Inf (2020) 35, 19 November 2020, paras. 53 seq. CPT, Report to the Greek Government on the visit to Greece carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) from 21 November to 1 December 2023, published on 12 July 2024 available here. GCR, Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee, Greece’s State Party Report, 142nd Session, 14 October – 7 November 2024, September 2024, available here. GCR, Third Party Intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case Muhammad v. Greece, Application no. 34331/22, available here. UN Human Rights Council, Press release: Greece: UN experts call for safe, impartial border policies and practices, 23 August 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4aIAtTW. FRONTEX, Fundamental Rights Officer, ANNUAL REPORT 2023, July 2024, p. 12, available here. Pursuant to Article 46 (4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 read as follows: “The executive director shall, after consulting the fundamental rights officer and informing the Member State concerned, withdraw the financing for any activity by the Agency, or suspend or terminate any activity by the Agency, in whole or in part, if he or she considers that there are violations of fundamental rights or international protection obligations related to the activity concerned that are of a serious nature or are likely to persist”. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Felipe González Morales, Human rights violations at international borders: trends, prevention and accountability, 26 April 2022, para.32, available at: https://bit.ly/3VNoYpV. 44