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 on board survived, while more than 600 people, from the believed 750 passengers of Adriana died: either their bodies were never recovered or they remain missing. Nine of the survivors were accused by the Greek state of being part of smuggling organisations and of being responsible for the shipwreck. They were put in pre-trial detention for almost a year waiting for a trial that should never have taken place.
This episode is the #FreePylos9 Teach-In, which took place on 15 May 2024, in solidarity with the nine criminalised survivors of the Pylos shipwreck and with all people on the move facing spurious charges of “facilitation.” Listen to defence lawyers; the “Free Pylos 9” campaigners; and people who have been supporting survivors of the shipwreck and their loved ones, discussing how what the Pylos shipwreck is not unique or exceptional, contrary to how the Greek state and the European Union have tried to construct it. What led to the Pylos shipwreck is systemic border violence. The criminalisation, arrest, and incarceration of people on the move who are categorised as “facilitators of illegal entry” (or “smugglers”) is part of this violence.
In this episode, we learn about this injustice, how it unfolded, and draw connections to other cases of criminalisation, as well as ongoing campaigns, struggles, and practices of solidarity with people on the move.
Transcript [coming soon]
Roundtable with: Nefeli (#FreePylos 9 campaign), Vicky (Legal Centre Lesvos, one of the defense lawyers of the Pylos 9), Marion and Lorraine (Legal Centre Lesvos), Spyros (Aegean Migrant Solidarity), Lolo (Alarm Phone/Captain Support Network), Anne (Free Homayoun) and Nour (Refugees Platform Egypt).
Podcast by: Deanna Dadusc, Camille Gendrot, Aila Spathopoulou and Anna Carastathis
Music composition and sound design: evi nakou
Recorded: 15 May 2024
Published: 27 November 2024