HRW condemns prosecution of 24 aid workers ahead of Lesvos trial
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned the prosecution of 24 humanitarian workers ahead of the resumption of their trial, calling the case a “perverse misrepresentation of life-saving humanitarian work” and urging Greek authorities to drop the charges.
The trial, set to resume on Thursday on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, involves volunteers linked to the nonprofit Emergency Response Center International (ERCI), who are accused of felony offenses stemming from their efforts to assist asylum seekers and migrants attempting the crossing from Turkiye to Greece.
A European Parliament report has described the case as “the largest case of criminalization of solidarity in Europe.” If convicted, the defendants face sentences of up to 20 years in prison on charges of migrant smuggling, participation in a criminal organization and money laundering. Misdemeanor charges in the case were dismissed in 2023.
“As perverse as it is to prosecute two dozen people for trying to save lives, this case is an acute example of the trend across Europe of criminalizing solidarity with people on the move,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at HRW. “An acquittal is the only just end to a prosecution that should never have started.”
Van Esveld is expected to attend the proceedings in Mytilene to monitor the trial, the organization said.
HRW said it has found that the case against the volunteers – including Sarah Mardini, Sean Binder and Nassos Karakitsos – is unsupported by evidence and relies on flawed reasoning that conflates humanitarian rescue at sea with criminal conduct.
The organization noted that since the prosecutions began in 2018, nearly all independent search-and-rescue operations in the Aegean Sea have ceased, a period that has coincided with an increase in migrant deaths.
Kathimerini
