EU border agency ‘involved in illegal asylum pushbacks’

BERLIN: Europe’s border security agency Frontex has been involved in several illegal "pushbacks" of asylum seekers crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, media including Germany’s Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

The investigation "shows for the first time that senior Frontex officials know about illegal practices by Greek border guards -- and that some of them are themselves implicated in pushbacks," the weekly said on its website.

Also known as refoulements, "pushbacks" are incidents where refugees or asylum seekers are illegally returned across a border to a country where they could face persecution.

Journalists say they uncovered six cases since April when Frontex units at a minimum did nothing to stop refugee boats in Greek waters being returned towards Turkey.