US EditionTwo dozen NGO workers go on trial in Greece for assisting migrant boat arrivals
The trial challenges whether humanitarian aid is criminalized under a 2021 law amid stricter EU migration policies, with 24 aid workers facing multi-year sentences.
- Dozens of aid workers have gone on trial in Greece, with 24 defendants linked to Emergency Response Centre International facing felony charges of criminal group membership and money laundering.
- Since 2019, Greece's centre-right government reinforced border controls with fences and sea patrols, while the 2021 law criminalising assistance reflects EU-wide tightening amid rising right‑wing political parties.
- Among those charged are Sarah Mardini, Syrian rescuer, and Sean Binder, German national and ERCI volunteer, who were arrested in 2018 and spent over 100 days in pre-trial detention before release.
- Rights groups sharply criticised the prosecutions as baseless, with Human Rights Watch saying `The case depends on deeply-flawed logic`; defence lawyer Zacharias Kesses warned the trial will define humanitarian aid's legal protection.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The events took place in 2018, when hundreds of Syrian refugees arrived by boat from Turkey to Greece – mainly to the island of Lesbos. All the defendants worked or collaborated as volunteers in the humanitarian organization Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), operating between 2015 and 2018, during the years of the so-called European migration crisis, and was responsible, among other functions, for the search and rescue of refugees …
Aid workers stand trial in Greece on migrant smuggling charges
Two dozen aid workers went on trial in Greece on Thursday on charges including migrant smuggling, in a case that rights groups have dismissed as a baseless attempt to outlaw aid for refugees heading to Europe.
Greek justice has placed 24 rescuers on the bench this Thursday for alleged crimes linked to the arrival of migrants on the island of Lesbos. They are accused of belonging to a criminal organization, favoring irregular immigration, transporting foreigners without the right of entry and money laundering, crimes for which the Prosecutor’s Office requests sentences of up to 20 years in prison. The facts investigated correspond to rescue operations …
NGO Workers on Trial in Major Greek Border Security Case
The long-awaited trial of 24 humanitarian workers on Lesbos has begun, marking a significant moment in Greece’s effort to strengthen border security during years of intense migration pressure. The defendants, active on the island between 2016 and 2021, face serious charges—including participation in a criminal organisation, facilitating the illegal entry of third-country nationals, and money laundering—offences that carry sentences of up to 20 y…
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