Survivors of migrant shipwreck file lawsuit against Greek authorities

A undated handout photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants onboard a boat during a rescue operation, before their boat capsized on the open sea, off Greece, June 14, 2023. (Photo courtesy: Hellenic Coast Guard via REUTERS)
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Updated 14 September 2023
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Survivors of migrant shipwreck file lawsuit against Greek authorities

  • Overcrowded fishing trailer was carrying between 400-750 migrants from Pakistan, Syria, Egypt
  • Shipwreck survivors recount hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water

ATHENS: Survivors of a migrant shipwreck off Greece in June, in which hundreds died, filed a lawsuit against the Greek authorities on Thursday, accusing them of violating their duty to protect the lives of the people on board the vessel.
The overcrowded fishing trawler said to be carrying between 400-750 people from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt sank in international waters off Greece on its way to Italy from Libya. Some 104 men survived and authorities recovered only 82 bodies.
Survivors have recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water and a disastrous attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow the vessel which capsized, according to interviews and evidence seen by Reuters.
The Greek coast guard and government have said they were monitoring the vessel for hours and no attempt was made to tow the boat which overturned when the coast guard was about 70 meters away.
A judicial investigation into the causes of the disaster is under way and could take more than a year to be completed.
On Thursday, 40 survivors filed a lawsuit complaining that “Greek authorities failed to intervene immediately and organize an appropriate operation in time to rescue those on board,” a statement by the Hellenic Leage for Human Rights, one of their representatives, said.
They say the vessel was “clearly unseaworthy” and also call for “an immediate, thorough and credible investigation” into the causes of the deadliest boat disaster in the Mediterranean in recent years.
Lawyers representing families of the missing have filed a request to judicial authorities investigating the case for the boat to be retrieved.
 


Discussions with Board of Peace ‘on hold’ due to Iran war, Indonesia says

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Discussions with Board of Peace ‘on hold’ due to Iran war, Indonesia says

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s foreign minister ‌said talks on US President Donald Trump’s Gaza “Board of Peace,” of which the Southeast Asian nation is a key troop-contributing member, were on ​hold due to the Middle East war.
The US and Israeli air war against Iran has killed scores of civilians, thrown global air transport into chaos and sent oil prices surging after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“All BoP discussions are on hold as all attention has shifted to the situation in Iran,” Minister Sugiono, who ‌goes by one name, ‌said late on Tuesday in ​response ‌to ⁠a ​question on calls ⁠for Indonesia to exit the peace board in the aftermath of the fresh conflict in the Middle East.
“We will also consult with our friends and colleagues in the Gulf because they are also under attack,” Sugiono told reporters after attending an event alongside President Prabowo Subianto.
Indonesia’s participation on the ⁠board has drawn criticism from experts and Muslim ‌groups at home, who ‌say it compromises the world’s largest Muslim-majority ​nation’s longstanding support for the Palestinian ‌cause.
Indonesia backs a two-state solution.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, ‌a leading clerical body, said on March 1 that Indonesia should leave the board, citing Trump’s attack on Iran as rendering the initiative ineffective.
Meanwhile, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, said Jakarta should ‌use its position to press Israel and the United States to halt the violence.
Trump first ⁠proposed the ⁠board in September when he unveiled a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza, later expanding its remit to address other global conflicts typically handled by the United Nations.
Sugiono also said Prabowo is willing to be a mediator in the Iran war in a bid “to cool down and de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Indonesia is readying 1,000 troops for potential deployment in Gaza by early April as part of a proposed multinational peacekeeping force, its army said, as ​part of the UN-mandated International ​Stabilization Force. It has also been given the deputy commander role of the force.