They were not smugglers \u2013 and the Greek authorities knew it. In the immediate aftermath of the deadly Pylos shipwreck, Greek authorities arrested nine Egyptian survivors, accusing them of smuggling migrants who had set off from Libya to Italy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Relying on statements that bear evidence of tampering<\/a>, the authorities also blamed the nine for causing the shipwreck that claimed the lives of over 500 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet within a month, evidence emerged suggesting that the nine Egyptians were not<\/em> part of the smuggling ring behind the tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A months-long investigation led by Solomon in collaboration with the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, the largest investigative journalism network in the Arab world, and published in El Pa\u00eds, Die Tageszeitung, and The New Humanitarian, uncovered key findings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite this, the nine remained in Greek custody for nearly a year, facing potential sentences of hundreds of years in prison. Ultimately, a Kalamata court ruled it lacked jurisdiction to try the case, leading to their release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The investigation highlights a troubling contradiction: while the Greek government publicly lauded its cooperation with Egypt in combating smuggling networks, it ignored critical intelligence from Egyptian authorities. According to Egyptian documents, Greece even declined to provide requested evidence to support the investigation into one of the Mediterranean\u2019s deadliest shipwrecks in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solomon has extensively covered the Pylos shipwreck with a series of investigations<\/a> and reports. In collaboration with ARIJ, El Pa\u00eds, TAZ, and TNH, Solomon gained access to more than 700 pages of internal documents from the Egyptian Public Prosecution and the Egyptian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior. Together, these documents form the complete dossier of the Egyptian authorities\u2019 investigation into the smuggling ring behind the migrant transport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The documents confirm that by July 2023\u2014just a month after the shipwreck\u2014Greek authorities were aware that the Egyptian investigation did not implicate the nine survivors arrested in Greece as members of the smuggling ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the news of the sinking of the fishing trawler reached Egypt in mid-June 2023, the manhunt in the country began immediately. According to the documents, by 25 June 2023, the Egyptian authorities had already identified 31 people, while the arrest of a low-level member introduced the names of five more Egyptians believed to be involved in the ring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Egyptian Public Prosecution, instructed to treat the case as a top priority, worked alongside the Directorate General for Combating Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants within the Interior Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On July 8, 2023, Egypt\u2019s Attorney General formally requested mutual legal assistance from the Greek Ministry of Justice, citing a bilateral agreement<\/a> on criminal cooperation between the two countries, signed on December 22, 1986.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Egypt shared all the information it had gathered on the structure and staffing of the smuggling ring, including the names of the identified network members and their roles. None of the nine arrested in Greece were among the 36 members identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In return, Egypt asked Greece to provide findings from its investigations, details about the circumstances of the shipwreck, and testimonies from survivors and defendants to \u201creach the truth in this crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of August, Greece had yet to respond. Egypt\u2019s Public Prosecution followed up with an urgent request, again pressing for the findings of the Greek investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 36 individuals identified as potential members of the smuggling network, Egyptian police managed to arrest 23. The remaining 13 fled to Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On August 30, 2023, a month and a half after the shipwreck, the Egyptian Public Prosecution summoned the head of the Directorate for Combating Trafficking and Smuggling of Migrants to testify about the ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to transcripts of his testimony, reviewed by Solomon, the prosecution specifically questioned him about any connections between the nine defendants detained in Greece and the network members arrested in Egypt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The official firmly stated that the nine were not part of the smuggling ring. \u201cInvestigations have established that the nine accused in Greece are victims,\u201d he testified, emphasizing that they were like the other migrants being transported and had no ties to the criminal organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He further explained that the connection between the nine survivors and the smuggling ring was limited to their recruitment and deception. The ring had misled the nine about job opportunities in Europe and facilitated their travel, he said. He confirmed that, like the other passengers, the nine paid between 140,000\u2013160,000 Egyptian pounds (\u20ac2,680\u2013\u20ac3,065).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, in their statements to the Egyptian authorities, the members of the network arrested in Egypt also explicitly deny that the nine Egyptians were their associates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Solomon\u2019s investigation reveals that the Greek Ministry of Justice forwarded Egypt\u2019s findings to the Kalamata office handling the case against the nine survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite this, internal Egyptian documents state that Greece did not respond promptly to Egypt\u2019s second request for mutual legal assistance. When Greece eventually replied, the response was negative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During an internal meeting on September 20, 2023, the Egyptian Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office reported that Greece had declined Egypt\u2019s request, stating it could not be granted \u201cat this time\u201d because the case had been referred to the competent court in Greece. It remains unclear whether Greece provided further responses later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solomon and its partners reached out to the relevant Greek authorities for comment on these findings but received no reply by the time of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, at the end of August 2023, an Egyptian diplomatic mission visited Greece to meet with eight of the accused held in Nafplion prison (the ninth was detained in Avlonas).<\/p>\n\n\n\n A memo prepared by the mission, led by Egypt\u2019s Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, alleged that Greek authorities blamed the nine Egyptians \u201cin an attempt to divert attention away from their own role\u201d in the shipwreck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The memo also criticized Greek authorities for delaying the examination of survivors\u2019 phones, stating that this evidence could challenge the official narrative presented about the circumstances of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On June 14, 2023, Sa\u2019edia Adel was at home in a small village in Al-Sharqia Governorate, about 80 km from Cairo, when she saw on Facebook that the boat carrying her son Ahmed had capsized off the coast of Pylos.\u201cI screamed; I couldn\u2019t believe it. We searched online for pictures of survivors and the dead,\u201d she told<\/a> Solomon<\/em> and iMedD last May from the modest home where six family members share two rooms, a small kitchen, and a toilet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Investigations by the Egyptian authorities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Testimony of Egypt\u2019s Top Anti-Migrant-Smuggling Official<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Greece Refuses to Assist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In prison<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n