In Greece, in less than a week, the trial of an extraordinary shipwreck will begin, in which more than 500 migrants lost their lives. For now, there are nine Egyptian migrants who find themselves in the dock. The Greek state designates them as smugglers who allegedly took place on this crowded fishing boat coming from Libya, Athens also accuses them of being at the origin of the shipwreck.
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With our correspondent in Athens,
For human rights organizations, this trial is a new illustration of the “ criminalization of migrants ” in Greece. These are exactly the words used by the NGO Legal Center Lesvos, which even speaks of “ systematic criminalization of migrants in Greece “.
For the NGO, it is a flash and incomplete investigation, essentially based on “ a handful » of testimonies that look like “ copy paste » which serves as the basis for this trial. A trial where the nine Egyptians are the only people prosecutedaccused, among other things, of being responsible for the sinking of this boat, the Adriana, despite the very murky role played by the Greek coast guard.
They would have in fact tried to pull the boat using ropes, a maneuver which would have directly caused the sinking. In any case, this is the most credible thesis which emanates both from a series of media investigations and from the majority of survivors’ testimonies, such as that of a young Syrian met by RFI.
The coast guards are not prosecuted
These Coast Guardsmen are not being prosecuted in this particular lawsuit. Only two officers are expected to appear before the Kalamata court where this trial is being held. And they will be present, as witnesses, in favor of the prosecution side. Ultimately nothing very surprising, the aim of this trial for Athens does not seem, in itself, to shed light on the murky conditions of this shipwreck, but, once again, to use the judicial weapon with the aim of send a message and try to dissuade migrants – and the smugglers who exploit them – from taking the migratory route which passes through Greece.
The Greek authorities are already using this legal weapon against NGOs. This seems to be part of the same general strategy of deterrence. The criminalization of migrants goes hand in hand with that of NGOs seeking to help them. And it is another very political trial, which is being held on the island of Lesbos, which is the symbol.
There, 24 humanitarian workers, whose job it was to save the lives of migrants at sea, found themselves accused, among other things, of human trafficking and espionage. The charges, which are not very credible, fall one after the other, but the Greek authorities have won because faced with this criminalization, the vast majority of NGOs have left Lesbos.
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