Greek court charges more coast guard officers over 2023 migrant shipwreck, sources say

By Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou *First Published on Reuters ATHENS, Nov 6 (Reuters) – A Greek prosecutor has extended charges to four more senior coast guard officers over one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest accidents, a 2023 shipwreck in which hundreds drowned off the southwestern town of Pylos, legal sources said on Thursday. The charges follow an appeal by lawyers…

Exclusive: Lawyer defends Coast Guard officers accused in deadly Pylos shipwreck

More than two years after the Pylos shipwreck—the deadliest in modern Greek history, with possibly more than 600 men, women, and children lost—clear answers about its causes remain elusive. In June, Solomon met with attorney Thrasivoulos Kontaxis at his office in Athens. Kontaxis is defending the 13 uniformed officers (the captain and crew) of patrol vessel PPLS-920, the only Coast…

Developments in the Pylos shipwreck case

*Reposted from Refugee Support Aegean Granting of refugee status to survivors and supplementary criminal investigation The survivors of the Pylos shipwreck on 14 June 2023, whom we legally represent, along with most other survivors, were finally granted refugee status at the end of 2024, following persistent efforts, and while some of their asylum applications had initially been…

Scathing report by the Greek Ombudsman on the Pylos shipwreck

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…

The Ombudsman’s Report on the Pylos Shipwreck

*First Published on The Greek Ombudsman The Ombudsman’s inquiry into the Pylos shipwreck reveals a series of serious and reprehensible omissions in the search and rescue duties on the part of senior officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard. The report finds that the actions and omissions of the implicated officers during the handling of the incident on…