21st May 2024
On 14 June 2023, a fishing vessel carrying around 750 people sank 47 miles off the coast of Pylos, a small town in the region of Peloponnese in Greece. The people had started from Tobruk in Libya and were heading to Italy, but after 5 days of sailing, they asked for help inside the Greek SRR. The Greek authorities knew about the boat in distress for 16 hours, but they never launched a rescue operation. Instead, they sent only one Hellenic CG vessel which arrived on the scene at 22.00. After 4 hours, at 02:00 am the boat sank and only 104 people were rescued.
The survivors testified that the Hellenic Coast Guard vessel 920 was guiding them toward Italy, and when the engine of the migrant boat stopped, the Hellenic Coast Guard vessel 920 threw a line and attempted to tow the migrant boat toward Italy to get rid of it. As a result of the towing, the vessel capsized and 650 people lost their lives, many of whom were trapped inside the hull of the ship.
The shipwreck caused public outcry in and out of Greece, but in less than 24 hours, the Greek authorities had found the culprit! Instead of the real perpetrators being accused, it was the victims! The Greek authorities arrested 9 survivors from Egypt who were prosecuted as smugglers, but also as responsible for causing the shipwreck. In other words, they tried to put all the blame for the 650 deaths on 9 random people.
On top of that, two more charges were added: participation in a criminal organization and illegal entry into the country.
An international campaign was initiated to support the 9 defendants with the hashtag #freepylos9.
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After spending almost one year in pretrial detention, the Pylos9 trial started on 21 May at the court of Kalamata.
Hundreds of people were gathered outside the court in solidarity with the 9 migrants, but also to demand justice for one of the biggest border crimes ever committed in Europe. International media, trial observers, and tens of activists were also present inside the court.
The court ruled that the 9 survivors are INNOCENT for the offenses of migrant smuggling and illegal entry and said that it has no jurisdiction over the charges of “criminal organization” and “cause of shipwreck” as the incident occurred in international waters. All the 9 defendants were set free!
It was a great victory against the government’s narrative. For a year now, they have been trying to convince the public opinion that they have found the “bad guys” who caused the shipwreck in Pylos. They have invented 9 scapegoats to cover up their responsibilities for the massacre.
It was the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, who during an interview on BBC stated that “the smugglers are responsible not the coastguard, they are the perpetrators and the Greek Coastguard has already arrested 9 of them.”
This decision is very important and can determine the outcome of the criminal investigation against the Greek coastguard for its role at the Pylos shipwreck. 53 survivors had filed a lawsuit against the Greek authorities stating that the Greek Coast Guard left them helpless at sea for 16 hours and then towed them with a rope that caused the boat to capsize
If the Pylos 9 had been convicted, most likely, the prosecutor would have closed the case against the Greek authorities. Therefore, the struggle to defend arrested migrants is linked with the struggle to bring the real perpetrators (European authorities) to court and condemn them for their crimes.
And this is a big political and social struggle.
Photos: Anastasia Vaitsopoulou and Efimerida ton Sintakton
Let’s not forget that the Pylos 9 represents thousands of others, thousands of random people on the move convicted as “smugglers” without any evidence, without legal support, and without the standards of a fair trial. The group of convicted “smugglers” is the second largest category of prisoners in Greek prisons with their number exceeding 2,282.
As for the Pylos shipwreck, the struggle continues at the Piraeus Maritime Court and the criminal investigation that is pending for the acts/omissions of the Greek Coast Guard, following the lawsuit case of the 53 survivors.
We have to stand by the side of the 53 survivors and demand justice for the thousands of victims of border violence.
We need to demand an end to this border regime.
Photos: Anastasia Vaitsopoulou and Efimerida ton Sintakton
Iasonas Apostolopoulos, Witness of Defense
