Greek court issues charges over 2023 migrant boat disaster

Arab News

6 days ago

LONDON: A Greek naval court has charged 17 coast guards over one of the Mediterranean's deadliest boat disasters, which killed up to 650 migrants.
The overcrowded Adriana fishing vessel capsized and sank near Pylos off the Greek coast in June 2023.
Survivors told the BBC that witnesses were silenced by Greek coast guards, who had caused the Adriana to capsize by trying to tow it. Greek authorities have consistently denied the claims.
Piraeus Naval Court's deputy prosecutor found that 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard should face criminal charges over the disaster.
One survivor told the BBC on Monday: 'It has taken us two years just for these charges to come, even though so many people witnessed what happened.'
Among those facing charges is the captain of the LS-920, the coast guard ship that intercepted the Adriana. The captain is accused of 'causing a shipwreck,' leading to the deaths of 'at least 82 people.'
That figure represents the number of bodies recovered from the shipwreck, but it is believed that up to 500 more people died, including many women and children who were below deck.
Four other officials, including the then-chief of the coast guard and the supervisor of the National Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Piraeus, were charged with 'exposing others to danger.'
The LS-920 captain was also charged with 'dangerous interference of maritime transport' and a 'failure to provide assistance.'
The coast guard ship's crew were charged with 'simple complicity' in all the actions allegedly committed by the captain.
The Adriana, which left Libya for Italy with about 750 people on board, had been monitored by the coast guard for about 15 hours before the disaster took place. Only 104 survivors have been recorded.
The BBC conducted a lengthy investigation that challenged the Greek coast guard's account of the sinking.
Last year, a Greek court threw out a case against nine Egyptians allegedly tied to the disaster, amid claims that they had been scapegoated by Greek authorities.
Syrian refugee Ahmad described the events to the BBC and accused the Greek coast guard of negligence.
'They attached a rope from the left,' he said. 'Everyone moved to the right side of our boat to balance it. The Greek vessel moved off quickly, causing our boat to flip. They kept dragging it for quite a distance.'
Once survivors were rescued, they were ordered to 'shut up' by the official in charge of questioning, Ahmad added.
The survivors, he said, were told: 'You have survived death. Stop talking about the incident. Don't ask more questions about it.'
Ahmad said he is 'very happy' that the coast guards 'are eventually being held accountable for all that they have committed, but until I see them in prison nothing has been done yet.'