ATHENS: Nine Egyptian men who were on board a migrant boat that sank off Greece last year, killing hundreds of people, are to face trial next month, accused of people smuggling, Greek judicial sources said on Friday.
The circumstances of the sinking of the Adriana in June remain a source of dispute between the Greek authorities and groups supporting the rights of survivors and migrants — meaning the trial could be the first opportunity to officially hear the accounts of some of those present at the time.
Survivors have accused the Greek coast guard of capsizing the boat. The authorities, which monitored Adriana for hours, say it overturned when a coast guard vessel was about 70 meters away. The coast guard service has denied any wrongdoing.
It remains unclear what happened in the time between the coast guard being alerted to the presence of the vessel and when it capsized.
In a report in December, EU border agency Frontex — which had spotted the boat from the air before the coast guard — said that Greek authorities failed to reply to its follow-up calls and its offers for assistance. It said it could not conclude what caused the Adriana to capsize.
The overcrowded fishing trawler was carrying hundreds of migrants from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt when it sank off the southern town of Pylos, in international waters, on its way from Libya to Italy. Some 104 men survived and only 82 bodies have been recovered.
It was the worst disaster in years and again highlighted the dangers for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
The nine Egyptian men, in pre-trial detention since June, have been charged with causing the incident, participating in a criminal organization, migrant smuggling and other charges, one of the sources told Reuters. They have denied any wrongdoing. The trial is set to begin on May 21 in Kalamata.
Rights groups have opposed their detention.
“These survivors deserve support, not persecution. It’s time to drop the charges,” said NGO Legal Center Lesvos. Last year survivors recounted how a doomed attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow the trawler capsized the vessel. Their statements contradict the accounts of the Greek government and the coast guard, which said the boat had refused assistance. In September, 40 survivors filed a lawsuit against Greek authorities accusing them of failing to intervene to rescue those on board and causing the vessel to capsize.
Nine Egyptians to face trial over shipwreck that killed Pakistanis among hundreds of migrants
https://arab.news/5egsw
Nine Egyptians to face trial over shipwreck that killed Pakistanis among hundreds of migrants
- The circumstances of the sinking of the Adriana in June remain a source of dispute between Greek authorities, rights groups
- Survivors have accused the Greek coast guard of capsizing the boat, while the coast guard service has denied any wrongdoing
Gunmen kill 3 Revolutionary Guards in Iranian province bordering Pakistan
- Iranian state media says attackers ambushed patrol in Sistan and Baluchistan province before fleeing
- Border region with Pakistan and Afghanistan has long seen militant and smuggling-related violence
TEHRAN: Gunmen killed three members of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan near the Pakistan border, state media reported.
The Guard members were ambushed while patrolling near the city of Lar in a mountainous area about 1,125 kilometers (700 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
IRNA did not report whether any Guard members were injured in the attack.
The Revolutionary Guard is pursing the attackers it calls “terrorists,” but they remain at large. No group has taken responsibility for the attack, IRNA reported.
The province bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the least developed in Iran, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers and Iranian security forces.
In August, Iran’s security forces killed 13 militants in three separate operations in the province a week after the group killed five policemen who were on patrol.
