On the 6^th February 2025, in a remarkable decision, the Court of Mytilene has acquitted a client of the Legal Centre of Lesvos, A.H., of the charges of smuggling and causing a shipwreck. A.H., a Palestinian refugee from the Gaza Strip, was prosecuted for attempting to cross the EU border to seek asylum.

The prosecution of A.H., who exemplifies the systematic criminalization of alleged “boat drivers” as smugglers, also brought to light the violence practiced by the Hellenic Coast Guard.

On September 5, 2024, A.H. and other migrants from Syria and Palestine were on board a small rubber dinghy when it was attacked by a Greek coast guard vessel as they tried to reach a Greek island from Turkey. The coast guard fired live ammunition and rammed the migrants’ boat, causing it to capsize. On board the coast guard, A.H. was beaten and seriously injured by the masked coast guard officers. But that was not all: A.H. was arrested and charged as a smuggler.

In court, A.H. stated that he had only come to Greece to seek safety and asylum. The fellow passengers confirmed that A.H. had not been steering the boat but had only been trying to stabilize the boat and save lives after the attack.

The two coast guard officers, who were the only witnesses for the prosecution against A.H., did not appear in court. The court decided not to take their statements into evidence.

A.H.’s lawyer Vicky Aggelidou from the Legal Center Lesvos, which is part of the Captain Support Network, said, “Today, for the first time, the courts of Mytilene seemed to acknowledge the necropolitics of the Greek government, and the torture A.H. suffered during his arrest. Given the numerous cases where people were convicted without sufficient evidence, it is important that today’s court did not follow this precedent, and that A.H. has been acquitted. This gives us further resolve to keep fighting inside and outside the courtroom.”

A.H. has also filed a formal criminal complaint, with Legal Centre Lesvos’ representation, for racially motivated torture, serious bodily harm, breach of duty, and violations of the European Convention of Human Rights.