Asylum-seekers in Greece face violence, pushbacks -aid group MSF

FILE PHOTO: Red Cross volunteers and rescue crews stand next to a fishing boat carrying migrants at the port of Paleochora, following a rescue operation off the island of Crete, Greece, November 22, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

ATHENS (Reuters) - Asylum-seekers arriving in Greece face physical violence including being beaten and sent back to sea, aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Thursday, calling on Greece to increase migrant search and rescue operations at sea.

Greece, one of the main gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has long been accused by aid groups and the United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR of forcibly ejecting migrants at its sea and land borders, also known as "pushbacks," an illegal practice.