Brussels contributed to this report.
Greek Court Orders 9 Smuggling Suspects Held Pending Trial Over Migrant Ship Disaster
A Greek court has ordered nine men suspected of crewing a migrant smuggling ship that sank off Greece, leaving more than 500 people missing, to be held in pretrial custody. The suspects, who are Egyptian nationals, face charges that include participation in a criminal organization, manslaughter, and causing a shipwreck. The court in Greece’s southern city of Kalamata ordered their detention after questioning them for hours.
The fishing trawler sank in the Mediterranean Sea on June 14, resulting in one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in recent years. Only 104 men and youths survived, while 82 bodies have been recovered. The search for survivors and bodies is ongoing.
Survivors have described the horrifying conditions on the ship, with women and children trapped in the hold as the vessel capsized and sank within minutes. It has been revealed that approximately 750 people paid thousands of dollars each for a spot on the overcrowded trawler, hoping for a better life in Europe.
Sworn testimonies from survivors have detailed the lack of food and water on the five-day journey, as well as the physical abuse suffered by those who tried to reach the deck. The testimonies also contradict the Greek coast guard’s claim that no vessel attempted to tow the trawler before it sank.
One survivor, Abdul Rahman Alhaz, stated that the Greek ship cast a rope and tied it to their boat, despite their pleas to stop due to the ship’s poor condition and overloading. Alhaz, a Palestinian from Syria, paid $4,000 to board the ship in Libya. He recognized seven of the suspects from pictures shown to him by Greek authorities.
The suspects, however, deny the charges and claim to be migrants themselves. Their defense argued that Greek courts lack jurisdiction because the shipwreck occurred in international waters, but the judges rejected this argument.
Survivors have also reported that most of the Pakistani passengers were in the hold and drowned. Rana Husnain Neseer, a Pakistani passenger who paid 7,000 euros for the trip, stated that approximately 750 people were on board and that they were denied food and water throughout the journey.
Greece has faced criticism for not attempting to save the migrants before the sinking. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the incident “horrible” and emphasized the need for urgent action. She suggested that the EU should help stabilize the economies of African countries, such as Tunisia, from where many migrants depart for Europe.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, five other human smuggling suspects have been arrested, and authorities have received inquiries from relatives of at least 124 missing individuals.
The full details of the sinking are still unclear, but survivors have described the lack of life jackets and the throwing of food into the sea by the smugglers. The engine of the trawler reportedly failed, and another vessel attempted to tow it, resulting in the sinking.
The investigation into the migrant ship disaster is ongoing, and the suspects will remain in custody pending trial.
Greek Court Orders 9 Smuggling Suspects Held Pending Trial Over Migrant Ship Disaster
Nine men suspected of crewing a migrant smuggling ship that sank off Greece leaving more than 500 missing were ordered held in pretrial custody Tuesday, as new accounts emerged on the sinking and the appalling conditions on the trip from Libya towards Italy.
The Egyptian suspects face charges that include participation in a criminal organization, manslaughter, and causing a shipwreck. A court in Greece’s southern city of Kalamata ordered their detention after questioning them for hours.
Only 104 men and youths — Egyptians, Pakistanis, Syrians, and Palestinians — survived one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea early on June 14; 82 bodies have been recovered, the last late Tuesday as a large search continued for a seventh day.
Survivors said women and children were trapped in the hold as the ship capsized and sank within minutes to one of the deepest spots in the Mediterranean.
Survivor accounts emerged Tuesday confirming that about 750 people paid thousands of dollars each for a berth on the battered blue fishing trawler, seeking a better life in Europe.
In sworn testimonies over the weekend, and seen by The Associated Press, survivors described shocking conditions on the five-day journey. Most of the passengers were denied food and water, and those who couldn’t bribe the crew to get out of the hold were beaten if they tried to reach deck level.
The testimonies also echoed previous accounts that the steel-hulled trawler sank in calm seas during a botched attempt to tow it. This clashes with the Greek coast guard’s insistence that neither its patrol boat that escorted the trawler in its last hours nor any other vessel attached a tow rope.
“The Greek ship cast a rope and it was tied to our bows,” survivor Abdul Rahman Alhaz said in his sworn testimony. “We shouted ‘stop, stop!’ because our boat was listing. (It) was in bad shape and overloaded, and shouldn’t have been towed.”
Alhaz, a 24-year-old Palestinian from Syria, said he paid $4,000 to board the ship at Tobruk in eastern Libya. He said the “people in charge” on the trawler were all Egyptians and recognized seven suspects from pictures Greek authorities showed him.
Lawyer Athanassios Iliopoulos, representing a 22-year-old Egyptian alleged smuggler, told The AP that all 9 suspects denied the charges in court and claimed to be migrants themselves. Iliopoulos said his client said he sold his truck and borrowed from his parents to raise 4,500 euros for his fare.
The lawyer said judges rejected a defense argument that Greek courts lack jurisdiction because the wreck occurred in international waters.
Alhaz, the Palestinian survivor, said most of the Pakistani passengers had been in the hold and drowned.
“One of the crew had told me there were more than 400 Pakistanis on the boat, and only 11 were saved,” he said.
These 11 didn’t include the wife and two children of Rana Husnain Neseer, 23, who were in the hold. Neseer himself, who said he paid 7,000 euros for the trip, traveled on deck.
“About 750 people were on board,” he said. “(The crew) didn’t give us food or water, and hit us with a belt to keep us from standing up.”
Neseer said other passengers told him a tow line was attached by a “big ship” just before the sinking. He didn’t see that “as I was bent low and praying.”
But he felt the vessel sharply list. “We all went to the other side to balance it, which made our boat tilt in the other direction and sink,” added Neseer.
Fellow Pakistani Azmat Khan Muhammad Salihu, 36, identified three suspects, including one who hit him when he tried to leave the hold, and one who struck passengers with a belt.
Being in the hold, he had no firsthand account of why the ship sank.
“I was saved because I found an opening and got out,” his testimony said. “I called to the others to follow me but … nobody managed to escape”
Greece has been widely criticized for not trying to save the migrants before the sinking in international waters. Officials in Athens say the passengers refused any help and insisted on proceeding to Italy, adding that it would have been too dangerous to try and evacuate hundreds of unwilling people off an overcrowded ship.
Asked about the incident as World Refugee Day was marked across the globe Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “It is horrible … and the more urgent is that we act.”
Von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s executive arm, said the EU should help African countries like Tunisia, where many migrants leave for Europe, to stabilize their economies, as well as finalize a long-awaited reform of the 27-nation bloc’s asylum rules.
She did not mention Libya, from where the doomed trawler and many similarly overloaded Europe-bound boats depart across the particularly dangerous Mediterranean migration route.
Five other human smuggling suspects were arrested in Pakistan this week, officials in Islamabad said Tuesday. Relatives of at least 124 people in Pakistan have contacted authorities to find out about missing loved ones, the officials said.
The full details of the sinking remain unclear. Photos and videos from before the sinking show people crammed on all available open spaces of the trawler.
One survivor, Ali Sheikhi from the northeast Syrian town of Kobani, told Kurdish TV news channel Rudaw that the smugglers didn’t allow life jackets and threw whatever food the passengers had into the sea.
Speaking late Sunday by phone from a closed reception center near Athens where survivors were taken, Sheikhi said he was directed to the hold but paid the smugglers to get out onto the deck.
By the time the ship sank, they had been at sea for five days. Water ran out after a day and a half, and he said some passengers drank seawater.
Sheikhi said the trawler’s engine failed and another vessel tried to tow it. “In the pulling, (the trawler) sank,” he said.
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What charges do the nine Egyptian nationals face in relation to the migrant shipwreck off the coast of Greece?
The recent Greek court hearing involves nine men who are suspected of crewing a migrant smuggling ship that sank off the coast of Greece, resulting in over 500 missing individuals. These suspects, who are Egyptian nationals, have been ordered to be held in pretrial custody. They face charges including participation in a criminal organization, manslaughter, and causing a shipwreck. The court in the city of Kalamata in southern Greece ordered their detention after questioning them extensively. The fishing trawler sank in the Mediterranean Sea on June 14, marking one of the most severe migrant shipwrecks in recent years. Only 104 men and youths survived, and the search for survivors and bodies is ongoing. Survivors have given testimonies describing the horrible conditions on the ship, with women and children trapped in the hold as the vessel capsized and sank within minutes. Reports indicate that approximately 750 people paid large sums of money for a spot on the overcrowded trawler, hoping for a better life in Europe. Survivors’ testimonies also contradict the Greek coast guard’s claim that no vessel attempted to tow the trawler before it sank. One survivor stated that the Greek ship cast a rope and tied it to their boat, despite their pleas to stop due to the ship’s poor condition and overloading. The suspects deny the charges and claim to be migrants themselves. However, their defense’s argument that Greek courts lack jurisdiction due to the shipwreck happening in international waters was rejected by the judges. The investigation into the migrant ship disaster is ongoing, and the suspects will remain in custody until the trial.
