Greek court rejects espionage charges against migrant rescuers
Granted:
Mytilene (Greece) (AFP) – A Greek court on Friday dismissed espionage charges against 24 activists involved in rescuing migrants after a lengthy trial condemned by human rights groups and international organizations.
The dramatic development in the case comes against the backdrop of what a senior European human rights official has described as a “hostile environment” in Greece for human rights workers trying to help migrants.
In a judgment read to the chamber, the court acknowledged procedural errors, including insufficient translations of the prosecution documents.
They also admitted that the defendants, among whom there were several foreigners, did not have sufficient opportunities to use interpreters.
The activists – two of whom have already spent months in prison – are still being investigated for human trafficking, money laundering, fraud and illegal use of radio frequencies.
That separate investigation is still ongoing, attorneys for the activists said.
After the decision was announced, activist Sean Binder, who was arrested in 2018 and spent more than three months in pretrial detention, said he would have liked the case to have gone to trial.
“This is not justice,” said Binder. “The trial would have been a trial four years ago, where we would have been found not guilty.
“We are not found innocent, it is simply a procedural error,” he told reporters outside the courthouse.
“The criminalization of solidarity”
The verdict came just hours after the UN’s judicial authority called for the charges to be dropped.
“Such trials are deeply troubling because they criminalize lifesaving work and set a dangerous precedent,” said Elizabeth Throssell, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
The European Parliament has branded the trial, which began in November 2021, as “the biggest criminalization of solidarity in Europe”.
Among those accused was Syrian swimmer Sarah Mardini, sister of Olympic refugee team swimmer Yusra Mardini. The story of their family and their dramatic crossing of the Aegean Sea in 2015 inspired the Netflix film The Swimmers.
Around 50 humanitarian workers are currently under prosecution in Greece. Athens is following Italy’s trend, which has criminalized giving aid to immigrants.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic said on Thursday that there had been concern for several years about the “hostile environment” in which human rights activists and journalists have to work in Greece.
“Smear campaigns against human rights defenders, burdensome NGO registration procedures and undue pressure on journalists have undermined human rights protection and shrunk civil space in the country,” he said in a statement.
“chilling effect”
Mijatovic noted that smuggling charges had been brought against Panayote Dimitra, the Greek spokesperson for the Helsinki Monitor rights group, last month.
Dimitra, along with the founder of the Norwegian human rights group Aegean Boat Report, is accused of being a member of a “criminal organization” that facilitates the illegal entry of asylum seekers into Greece.
“Targeting human rights defenders and persons participating in solidarity actions is both contrary to the international obligations of states and has a chilling effect on human rights work,” said Mijatovic.
“I call on the Greek authorities to ensure that human rights defenders and journalists can work safely and freely,” he added.
Greece’s conservative government, elected in 2019, has promised to make the country “less attractive” to migrants.
Part of the strategy includes extending the existing 40 km (25 mi) wall on the Turkish border in the Evros region by another 80 km.
Tens of thousands of people who have fled Africa and the Middle East seek Greece, Italy and Spain in the hope of a better life in the European Union.
Despite thorough investigations by the media and NGOs based on the testimony of alleged victims, Greek authorities have consistently denied pushing people who try to land on its shores.
© 2023 AFP