Justice for Pylos State Crime
*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…
The absence of any investigation into the responsibilities of the competent search and rescue bodies and the leadership of the Greek Coast Guard is deafening The lawyers representing the survivors and victims of the shipwreck of the fishing vessel “Adriana”, which took place west of Pylos on 14/06/2023, were informed a few days ago of the completion…
For more languages choose here: One and a half year has passed since the state crime near Pylos was committed, which led to the death of more than 600 people migrating to Europe. Despite the irrefutable evidence and testimonies of shipwreck survivors, those responsible for this crime have not yet been brought before the judicial authorities. In…
The second part of the joint investigation by Solomon, ARIJ, El País, TAZ, and The New Humanitarian provides, in unprecedented detail, an account of the structure and operation of the north African smuggling ring behind the Pylos shipwreck. *First Published on WeAreSolomon Alexandria, Egypt – On July 14, 2023, exactly one month after the deadly Pylos shipwreck, Egyptian…
Solomon’s investigation–conducted in collaboration with El País, Die Tageszeitung, ARIJ, and The New Humanitarian–reveals that Egypt informed the Greek authorities that the nine survivors of the Pylos shipwreck were not members of the smuggling network. Yet, the men stayed behind bars for a year. *First Published on WeAreSolomon They were not smugglers – and the Greek authorities…
In the early morning hours of 14 June, 2023, the overcrowded fishing boat “Adriana” sank in international waters around 50 miles from the port of Pylos, Greece. Hundreds of people, including all women (and people assigned ‘female’ at birth) and children on board, drowned under the watch of the Hellenic Coast Guard. Only 104 people who were…
In an outrageous decision, the Three-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies in Kalamata today rejected the compensation claims of the “Pylos 9” for their unjust pre-trial detention, which lasted more than 11 months. It is worth recalling that the “9” were detained on charges of participating in a criminal organization, causing a fatal shipwreck, illegally transporting third…
On Tuesday, 19 November 2024, the Three – Member Court of Appeals for Felonies in Kalamata will hear the compensation claims of the ‘Pylos 9’. These nine individuals, survivors of the sinking of the vessel Adriana on June 14, 2023, were accused and detained by the Greek state for the shipwreck and also as alleged members of a smuggling…
As the appeal trial of Homayoun Sabetara approaches on 24 September, the Captain Support Network together with the undersigned organisations urgently call for his freedom and for an end to the systematic criminalisation of migrants under Greece’s broad anti-smuggling laws. In his original trial in 2021, Homayoun, a migrant fleeing Iran, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Greece for “facilitating illegal…
*First published on Kathimerini High-ranking Hellenic Coast Guard officers have been appearing before the Greek Ombudsman since Monday over the fatal shipwreck off southern Greece in June 2023. The process is expected to be completed on September 20, with the examination of the coast guard head himself, Vice Admiral Georgios Alexandrakis. The process is part of an…
