Clear evidence of serious criminal liability among senior Coast Guard officers – Unacceptable interference by the Ministry of Shipping
The series of serious and reprehensible omissions in the search and rescue duties on the part of senior officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard, which constitute clear indications of the existence of, inter alia, offences of deadly exposure to danger, as well as exposure to endangering the life, health and physical integrity of those on board the Adriana fishing vessel, the Ombudsman points out in today’s press release on the completion of the investigation and the relevant conclusion of the wreck of Pylos.
The Report of the Independent Authority comes to clear indications for eight (8) senior officers of Hellenic Coast Guard regarding their knowledge and disregard of the risk to the life, health and physical integrity of the foreign nationals on board the fishing vessel Adriana, who are considered subject to investigation for deadly exposure, as well as for exposure to danger of the life, health and physical integrity of the persons on board the fishing vessel Adriana., punishable under article 306 of the Criminal Code.[…] while “[…] also assesses the allegations for the towing of the fishing vessel Adriana by the vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard assigned to assist.[…]”.
The Report by the Greek Ombudsman comes, first of all, to confirm the claims of the surviving plaintiffs about the responsibilities of those who are eminently and by law competent and responsible for the failures and omissions of the Search & Rescue Operation, namely, the competent bodies of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC), Operations Centre of the Hellenic Coast Guard and their hierarchical superiors, who have not been examined so far by the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office. For this reason, moreover, on 23 December 2024, the lawyers of the survivors, we filed a petition before the competent Public Prosecutor of the Piraeus Maritime Court requesting, among other things, the prosecution and the obvious investigation and attribution of responsibility for the commission of the acts complained of to the responsible executives of the Οperations Centre of the Hellenic Coast Guard and Joint Rescue Coordination Center and to the persons in charge of higher hierarchical or supervisory directorates and bodies, who are responsible for acts and omissions that led to the shipwreck and the death of 600 people.
The Report also identifies serious gaps and omissions in the case file concerning critical evidence as it finds that “[…][…] crucial evidence were not disclosed to the Authority, despite repeated relevant requests; such evidence, sought but not disclosed, were, particularly, the data from the mobile phone of the captain of the Coast Guard vessel assigned to assist, which is in the possession of the Piraeus Maritime Court, and all the conversations of the captain with the Operations Centre of the Hellenic Coast Guard until the capsizing of the fishing vessel, for which the Coast Guard admitted that they were not recorded digitally, despite the provisions to the contrary. Similarly, the Hellenic Coast Guard informed the Authority that the recording material from the cameras of the Coast Guard vessel assigned to assist was not available as the cameras were out of order due to damage. The review of the above evidentiary material is decisive for the establishment of culpability for causing a shipwreck. […]’. We note that a number of requests for the preservation and production of critical evidence have been filed with the competent Public Prosecutor by the lawyers of the shipwreck survivors.
The Report by the Greek Ombudsman on the Pylos shipwreck is the first reliable and thorough investigation by an Independent Authority in Greece and is expected to shed light on the circumstances under which the shipwreck took place and the apparent responsibilities of its perpetrators. We recall that the Ombudsman decided to conduct a private investigation, with the special competence of the National Mechanism for the Investigation of Arbitrary Incidents (EMIDIPA), in November 2023, following the express refusal of a disciplinary investigation by the Coast Guard.
In the light of the Ombudsman’s report, we await the proper judicial investigation and demand the extension of the criminal proceedings and the accountability of those who conducted the disastrous operation that led to the wreck of Pylos. The unacceptable and out of the scope of competence and constitutional order judgments contained in yesterday’s “Announcement of the Ministry of Shipping” on the content of Greek Ombudsman’s report, which constitute a direct interference in the functioning of the institution of the Independent Authority and a direct interference in the judiciary, are a cause for concern. And this, while the Ministry of Shipping in question, on the one hand, did not carry out the expected Disciplinary Investigation, on the other hand, did not properly cooperate and did not provide requested information – neither to the Independent Authority, nor to the FRONTEX Fundamental Rights Office, while the information provided in the context of the Prosecutor’s Investigation on the shipwreck is also incomplete.
There should be transparency and access to all possible evidence. Accountability for the wreck of the Pylos shipwreck and justice is the minimum justification for the victims and is a requirement for our democracy.
Organisations:
Network for the Social Support of Refugees and Migrants
Hellenic League for Human Rights (HlHR)
Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)
Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the shipwreck of Pylos
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)
Legal Centre Lesvos