A group of tourists were spotted trying to push back a boat full of migrants after it attempted to land on a Greek beach.
Footage posted on social media showed beachgoers pushing the boat away on the Sarakiniko beach in the southern island of Gavdos.
The tourists got into the water and tried to shove the boat away from the shore before it could touch down.
Local media reports the migrants, reportedly from Libya were told not to disembark on the beach and were redirected back towards the port.
A caption written in Greek on the post on TikTok read: "You came here for no reason lads, have a good trip back."
Greece's right-wing government passed a law earlier this month toughening penalties for rejected asylum seekers and speeding up returns to their home countries, hardening the country's stance on migrants after a surge in arrivals at its southern borders this year.
The Mediterranean nation was on the frontline of a 2015-2016 migration crisis when more than one million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa crossed into Europe.
Migrant flows have since fallen, however an upswing in arrivals from Libya through the islands of Crete and Gavdos this year prompted the government to temporarily ban processing asylum applications of migrants coming from North Africa.
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The migrant boat was pushed back from the Greek coastline
|TIKTOK
The new law stipulates that undocumented migrants entering Europe's southernmost point from third countries deemed safe by the EU and not entitled to asylum must return home or be detained for at least 24 months and face fines of up to €10,000.
The legislation marks a further toughening on migration under the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
His administration has built a fence at Greece's northern borders and boosted sea patrols to deter migrants from crossing since it came to power in 2019.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told the Parliament in Athens the rights of Greeks who want to protect their country outweighed the rights of someone whose asylum was rejected and was staying in Greece illegally.
The caption translated reads 'You came here for no reason lads, have a good trip back'
|TIKTOK
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the law risked penalising migrants in need of international protection.
It suggested the introduction of fast-track asylum procedures could allow for the prompt identification of refugees and non-refugees and their respective administrative treatment.
Greece said it returned hundreds of irregular migrants after it suspended asylum requests in July and planned more flights to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Egypt to return migrants this month.
Human rights groups have accused Athens of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders.
This year, the EU border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece.
The Deputy Mayor of Chania previously explained to Nigel Farage on GB News exactly how Crete has been able to slash the number of small boat migrant arrivals.
Elena Zervoudaki declared on the People’s Channel "things are changing" after it was announced that all asylum claims from those arriving via small boat will be suspended.
She told GB News: "The Minister responsible for asylum has changed the law. That means people coming to our country, because as you know, Greece is the entry to Europe, will be considered prisoners.
"All these people coming from for example, Egypt and Bangladesh, where there is no war, will be arrested."
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