Lawsuit filed at European court of human rights says group were abandoned in life rafts after some were beaten

A lawsuit filed against the Greek state at the European court of human rights accuses Athens of a shocking level of violence in sophisticated inter-agency operations that form part of an illegal pushback to stop the arrival of refugees and migrants.

The suit, filed by the NGO Legal Centre Lesvos, centres on an alleged incident in October last year in which a fishing boat set off from Marmaris in Turkey for Italy carrying about 200 people, including 40 children and a pregnant woman. The boat ran into difficulty in a storm off the south coast of Crete, leading the captain to radio for assistance.

Related: ‘We were left in the sea’: asylum seekers forced off Lesbos

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.