Under the unwatchful eye of the authorities’ deactivated cameras: dying in the darkest depths of the Mediterranean

*First Published in Solomon A collaborative investigation by Solomon, Forensis, The Guardian and ARD presents the most complete tracing, to date, of the course that the fishing vessel Adriana took until it ultimately sank, causing over 600 people to drown − while under the supervision of Greek and European authorities. A document reveals that according to Frontex…

Survivors: ‘Greek coastguard was next to us when boat capsized’

By Moira Lavelle and Vedat Yeler *First Published on Al Jazeera Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities. Pylos, Greece – As soon as the overloaded fishing trawler set off from Libya last month, the danger seemed obvious to Ahmed*, a 21-year-old Syrian. “The boat was too heavy,” he told Al Jazeera. “We were sitting next to each other,…

Tracing a tragedy: How hundreds of migrants drowned on Greece’s watch

By Imogen Piper, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Claire Parker and Elinda Labropoulou *originally pubished in The Washington PostJuly 5 at 10:00 a.m.717 The earliest of more than a dozen distress calls came the morning of June 13. On a boat overpacked with migrants, water had run out and the situation was deteriorating. Yet the Greek coast guard did not call for a high-priority rescue operation.…

Everyone Knew the Migrant Ship Was Doomed. No One Helped.

*First Published on The New York Times By Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Karam Shoumali Matina Stevis-Gridneff reported from Athens and Brussels. Karam Shoumali reported from Berlin. From air and by sea, using radar, telephone and radio, officials watched and listened for 13 hours as the migrant ship Adriana lost power, then drifted aimlessly off the coast of Greece in a slowly…

Drowning in Lies

*First Published on Lighthouse Reports Greece tries to cover up its own role in the Pylos shipwreck by tampering with evidence On the night of 13 June, a vessel carrying around 750 men, women and children mainly from Pakistan, Egypt and Syria capsized in the Central Mediterranean, in Greek waters. The Greek authorities had been aware of…

Greece boat wreck victims asked for prayers before leaving Libya

Families of those on board recall the heartbreaking farewells they shared as hopes of finding any more survivors vanish. By Moira Lavelle and Vedat Yeler *First Published on Al Jazeera Naeem Afridi last spoke to his brother, Hameedullah, on June 12 as he was travelling on a boat from Libya headed to Europe. “Hameedullah told me ‘Don’t worry. I’m just…