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\u2019s broad anti-smuggling laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his original trial in 2021, Homayoun, a migrant fleeing Iran, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in Greece for \u201cfacilitating illegal entry,\u201d after driving across the border to reach Europe. His case is part of a systemic practice of prosecuting migrants as \u201csmugglers\u201d under Greece\u2019s harsh anti-smuggling legislation. Based on the EU Facilitator\u2019s Package, \u2018smuggling\u2019 in Greece can include anyone who is behind the wheel of a boat or in the drivers\u2019 seat of a car crossing a border. Those convicted under this law face draconian, decades-long prison sentences, despite receiving no material benefit for their alleged \u2018facilitation.\u2019 Many of those convicted are asylum seekers themselves, acting out of necessity during dangerous journeys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This unjust criminalisation is compounded by the violence people on the move face at the hands of authorities at Greece\u2019s borders. Migrants are often arrested and charged as smugglers following attempted pushback operations by the coast guard and police, and in many cases people are convicted based solely on the testimonies of the very officers involved in these attempted pushbacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Needless to say, the criminalisation of migration is inextricably linked to the systemic attacks on migrants at the Greece-Turkey border and the EU-supported enforcement of its borders. This criminalisation will persist as long as discriminatory migration policies force people from the Global South to undertake dangerous journeys to enter Europe, only to be attacked and punished upon arrival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2015, when the number of boats arriving from Turkey to Greece increased, thousands of people have faced smuggling charges, and people accused or convicted of smuggling make up the second-largest prison population in Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In September 2024 alone, our network monitored and supported several smuggling trials in Greece, where people on the move were prosecuted under the same broad legislation used against Homayoun:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As human rights, solidarity, and grassroots organisations providing representation, supporting, and monitoring the trials of criminalised migrants, we know all too well that the prosecution of Homayoun is unfortunately not unique. The targeting of people on the move as smugglers has become a part of migration management in Greece and throughout Europe, and must be stopped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We call on the Greek authorities and the European Union to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n