Greece began shipping migrants from the island of Lesbos to Turkey on Monday under a controversial European Union deal aimed at stopping the flow of migrants and refugees into Europe since last year.
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A small group of activists protested outside the port chanting "Shame on you!" Volunteer rescuers protesting at sea lifted a banner above their vessel which read: "Ferries for safe passage, not for deportation."
Under the EU-Turkey deal, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees, including Syrians, who enter Greece illegally in return for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and rewarding it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
Two Turkish-flagged passenger boats carrying 131 migrants set sail from Lesbos to the Turkish town of Dikili as the sun rose over the Aegean Sea early on Monday, a Reuters witness said.
Most returnees were from Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to Ewa Moncure, a spokeswoman for EU border agency Frontex. Each migrant was accompanied by a plainclothes Frontex officer. Greek riot police squads also boarded the boats.
Oxfam halted operations at a Greek island camp last month to reject the inhumane conditions and violation of rights under the new rules.
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“It is incomprehensible how Europe has basically suspended the rights of these people who are looking for protection in Greece,” said Oxfam representative in Greece, Giovanni Riccardi Candiani, in a statement. “The detention of people, who committed no crime and who have risked their lives in search of security and a better future, is an offense to the same values that Europe has so passionately defended in the past.”
The United Nations refugee agency has also criticized the deal.