DUBAI, 31 March 2022, (TON): Greece’s independent authority for transparency said “after an in-depth investigation it has found no basis for reports that Greek authorities have illegally turned back asylum-seekers entering the country from Turkey.”

The National Transparency Authority said in a statement “the allegations by the Lighthouse Reports non-profit organization last year concerning informal obligatory returns of asylum-seekers by masked men were not confirmed.”

The statement said “upon completion of the examination process and the laboratory examination of the relevant material, no supporting evidence emerged.”

Greece is a major entry point for people from the Middle East, Asia and Africa seeking a better life in the European Union. A record of about 1 million people arrived through neighboring Turkey in 2015, but in recent years the numbers have dropped drastically following tougher border management.

Greece has repeatedly been accused by human rights groups and Turkey, its historic regional rival from which thousands of migrants try to enter every year, of illegally sending back asylum-seekers who have reached Greek shores and dumping them at sea.

Similar claims have been made concerning asylum-seekers who cross the land border with Turkey and are allegedly clandestinely sent back. Athens strongly denies the practice, known as pushbacks.