How good legal defense can make a difference

On Monday 10th of March 2025, HRLP lawyers defended a Syrian asylum seeker facing up to 160 years in prison for the illegal transfer of 16 asylum seekers, before the Syros First Instance Court.

Due to reasonable doubt for his guilt, the Court declared the defendant innocent. Especially after HRLP submitted a certificate for his pending asylum application, the judge claimed that the defendant entered the country to seek asylum, paying the same amount as every other boat passenger. The Court also acknowledged that initially, another driver was in charge of the boat but then left during the journey.

Unfortunately, other defendants with similar accusations were sentenced to 25 and more years imprisonment. This clearly shows that having a good defense can have a huge impact on the case and especially on the life of the people.

This is why we as captain support decided to provide financial support to these types of cases: Every person should have the right to fair trial and access to careful defense lawyers.