[Last updated 7 May 2025]
GREECE’S DELAYED DISCLOSURE OF AN INADEQUATE AND INEFFECTIVE INVESTIGATION
Barış Büyüksu, who was a Turkish citizen, was found “semi-conscious” in a life raft by the Turkish Coast Guard together with 15 Palestinian migrants on the shores of Bodrum on 22 October 2022 and subsequently lost his life while he was waiting for an ambulance for emergency medical assistance. Witnesses testified that Barış was killed as a result of torture he had been subjected to by Greek authorities, prior to being pushed back to Turkey. The Forensic Medicine Report prepared within the scope of an investigation conducted in Turkey corroborates that Barış died as a result from “general trauma” he suffered.
Following a two year-long search, the family of Büyüksu and their lawyers finally received through the Turkish Court system the Greek authorities’ case file related to their minimal investigation into Büyüksu’s death. The available documentation indicates that the Greek investigation found no evidence that Büyüksu was in Greece on 21-22 October 2022. This response is predictable given both the Greek state’s blanked denial that pushbacks are taking place, and the clandestine, covert manner in which these unlawful expulsions take place. Nevertheless, this inadequate response is an incredible disappointment for Büyüksu’s family, as for all those seeking justice for the systematic border violence and attacks against migrants.
According to the case files, the Bodrum Chief Prosecutor’s Office officially requested that Greek authorities investigate the death of Büyüksu on 1 November 2022 through an official request for international cooperation, however this request did not reach the Greek Authorities officially until 7 February 2023. It was nine months later, on 05/12/2023, that the Greek Ministry of Justice ordered the Prosecutor’s Office of the Dodecanese islands (which includes Kos island) to investigate the case. Afterwards, the prosecution assigned an interrogator judge on Kos Island to supervise the investigation, which was finalised and sent back to Turkish authorities on 21 August 2024. In short, the request for international collaboration in the investigation into the death of Büyüksu took almost two years to be completed.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, the investigation found no evidence of Büyüksu’s presence either on Kos island or in the sea off the coast of Kos. During the investigation, only Greek officials were questioned. One coast guard officer who had been on duty between 21-22 October 2022 testified that they had detected a floating object in the sea that night which in fact may have been a life raft matching the description of the one that was carrying Büyüksu. At the same time, both the Migration Management Department of the Kos police and the management of the Closed Controlled Access Center (CCAC) on Kos stated provided information that did not refer to Baris Büyüksu.
As only Greek authorities were questioned in this case – i.e. the very authorities suspected to be the perpetrators of the torture and killing of Büyüksu –, it is evident that the investigation was carried on with little to no will to obtain the truth or justice. Moreover, the period investigated by the Greek authorities did not include the actual period of Büyüksu’s stay on Kos island; his family testified that Baris informed them on 28.09.2022 that he was on Kos, which was no less than 23 days prior to his death. Instead the investigation only focused on two days – the 21-22 October – namely, the day following his presumed apprehension and the day of his death. Testimonies given by Büyüksu’s family members and friends indicate that after his arrival to Kos island, he did not wish to apply for asylum, but rather to continue with his journey to seek asylum elsewhere and did not therefore register himself with Greek authorities. Büyüksu was only apprehended by civil uniformed individuals as he was trying to board a ship going to Athens on 20 October. The coast guard officer who were questioned has also given vague testimony. Above all, no remarks or questioning on apprehension, torture and pushbacks were made during the Greek investigation, although the request of the Bodrum Prosecution specifically indicated “a suspicion of illegal expulsion which should be investigated”, and included the testimonies of two of the migrants who were detained in the same building with Büyüksu when he was apprehended and who were forced into the same life raft with him when they were pushed back to Turkey. In short, the investigation focused simply on Büyüksu’s official presence on the island, rather than on whether he was unofficially and illegally apprehended, tortured, pushed back, and eventually killed.
As Progressive Lawyers Association and Legal Centre Lesvos lawyers, who represent the family, we understand and conclude that the authorities:
- acted incredibly slow in processing the request for international collaboration between Turkey and Greece, despite the obvious urgency and the seriousness of the criminal case at hand,
- showed an unwillingness to carry out a transparent procedure and provide due access to the victim’s family and their lawyers access to the case file.
- conducted an ineffective and inadequate investigation, which ignored the extensive and crucial evidence available in this case as well as in the general context of pushbacks and border violence from Greece, and relied entirely on the vague and contradictory testimonies of Greek officials to draw investigative conclusions..
Due to the lack of an effective investigation by the Kos Prosecutor’s Office, the lawyers of the Legal Centre Lesvos have filed a criminal complaint in Greece, calling for a thorough investigation to hold accountable those responsible for Barış’s death. We will continue our fight for justice for the torture and murder of Büyüksu.
Progressive Lawyers Association
Nergiz Aslan, nergizaslan@gmail.com (Turkish)
Legal Centre Lesvos
info@legalcentrelesvos.org
Vicky Aggelidou, vicky@legalcentrelesvos.org (Greek and English)
Ozan Mirkan Balpetek, ozan@legalcentrelesvos.org (English and Turkish)