First drawn a century ago, the border that separates Greece from Turkey along the Evros/Meriç river at the EU’s southeastern frontier is deadlier and more opaque than ever. FA/Forensis built an interactive platform that unpacks this complex and lethal border infrastructure, and examines the present-day condition of the border against the transformation of the river landscape over the past century.

Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli military has abused and weaponised humanitarian measures such as ‘evacuation orders’, ‘safe routes’, and ‘safe zones’ to facilitate the systematic mass displacement of the Palestinian civilian population toward the southern border of Gaza.

On 14 June 2023, a boat carrying hundreds of migrants sank inside the Greek search and rescue zone in the Mediterranean Sea—the deadliest migrant shipwreck in recent history. Our digital reconstruction of the boat and mapping of its trajectory reveal inconsistencies in the Hellenic Coast Guard’s (HCG) account and indicate that over 600 people drowned as the result of a failed towing by the HCG.

The fire which destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos was at least the 247th outbreak to have occurred in and around the overcrowded camp since 2013. Six young asylum seekers who came to be known as the 'Moria 6' were accused of arson and jailed. FA and Forensis reconstructed the fire’s spread, casting significant doubt on the basis for those convictions.

Asylum seekers crossing the Aegean Sea are intercepted within Greek waters or arrested after they arrive on Greek shores, beaten, stripped of their possessions, and then forcefully loaded onto life rafts and left to drift back to the Turkish coast. FA/Forensis verified and mapped evidence for over 2000 such ‘drift-backs’, demonstrating the scale of this violent and illegal border defence practice.

At Europe’s southeastern river border, migrants report being beaten, detained, and illegally ‘pushed back’ to Turkey from Greece by unidentified masked men. Greek and EU authorities refuse to investigate. We worked with Parvin, a young woman from Iran, to analyse evidence she had gathered during her crossings and reconstruct her journey and experiences of ‘pushback’.

At Europe’s southeastern river border, migrants report being beaten, detained, and illegally ‘pushed back’ to Turkey from Greece by unidentified masked men. Greek and EU authorities refuse to investigate. We used architectural and gaming software to gather evidence that proves the practice is widespread and systematic.

When Turkey mobilized refugees and migrants to cross into Greece, reports emerged that Greek forces had responded with live fire, causing casualties. We confirmed that, despite Greece’s denials, automatic rounds were fired from the Greek side of the border and one person, Muhammad al-Arab, was shot dead near a group of armed Greek soldiers.

The case of ND and NT v. Spain was the first trial at the European Court of Human Rights to address pushbacks at Europe’s land borders. The Court’s decision to acquit Spain was based on a gross distortion of facts. Using data from asylum applications and spatial analysis, we demonstrate that no legal routes to ask for protection are available to Black migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa.

After Turkey started encouraging refugees and migrants to cross the Evros/Meriç land border into Greece, reports emerged that Greek forces had responded with live fire, causing multiple casualties. Despite Greece’s official denials, we confirmed that live rounds were indeed fired from the Greek side of the border, that several people were wounded, and one person, Muhammad Gulzar, was killed.

The death of more than 40 people off the coast of Lesvos in October 2015 was the single deadliest incident in Europe's 'long summer of migration'. One of the survivors, Amel Alzakout, recorded the shipwreck on a waterproof wrist camera. Her footage provides a unique, situated perspective of this tragic event at the threshold of Europe.

Ayşe Erdoğan crossed the Evros/Meriç river into Greece in 2019, fleeing persecution in Turkey. She and two friends recorded their journey. Using messages, location data, photos, and videos, we confirmed they had reached Greece before being ‘pushed back’, and arrested and imprisoned in Turkey.

At southeastern Europe’s river border, refugees report being beaten, detained, and illegally ‘pushed back’ to Turkey from Greece by unidentified masked men. Working with Der Spiegel, we analysed the first footage of a pushback in progress, and tried to identify those responsible.

Five months after Italy began to close its ports to migrants rescued at sea, a vessel carrying 93 people was spotted in the southern Mediterranean. The Italian and Libyan Coast Guards enlisted a private merchant ship to rescue the migrants and forcefully return them to Libya. Using tracking data and testimonies, Forensic Oceanography exposed a new mode of privatised border security.

When the Libyan coastguard interrupted a rescue operation by the NGO Sea Watch, at least twenty migrants lost their lives, and more were ‘pulled back’ to inhumane detention in Libya. Forensic Oceanography shone a light on the practices of a coastguard funded and trained by the Italian government.

The Iuventa has rescued over ten thousand people from the Mediterranean since it began operating in 2016. When the vessel was impounded by Italian authorities under suspicion of collusion with people smugglers, we used video evidence and meteorological data to refute the allegations.

Changing EU policies toward the rescue of migrants resulted in over a thousand deaths in the Mediterranean in the space of one week. Working with survivors and available shipping data, we recreated the incidents and explored the consequences of making rescue vessels out of commercial ships.

A migrants’ boat was left drifting for two weeks in NATO-monitored waters, its presence known to the Italian coastguard and other nearby vessels. Sixty-three people died. Using an array of sensing technologies—thermal cameras, radar, and tracking—Forensic Oceanography mapped the path of the boat.