An public prosecutor in Greece has charged seventeen employees of the Greek Coast Guard for a shipwreck in 2023. About five hundred refugees died in the disaster. According to crew members, the Coast Guard is responsible for the sinking of the ship.
The charges are the result of an investigation into the sinking of the overcrowded Adriana, which had approximately 750 refugees on board at the time of the disaster. The former fishing vessel sank on June 14, 2023, about 80 kilometers from the Greek coastal town of Pylos. It is considered the largest disaster involving a refugee ship in the Mediterranean Sea in the past ten years.
One of the defendants is the captain of the Coast Guard ship that sailed near the ship. He has been charged with causing a shipwreck resulting in “at least 82 deaths.” The captain is also accused of “dangerous interference with maritime transport” and “failure to provide assistance.”
After the disaster, 82 bodies were found. But the death toll is likely much higher: Greek authorities estimate that more than five hundred people have died.
It is known that only 104 crew members survived the disaster, reports BBC News. It is unclear exactly how many people were on the ship. Many crew members were on the lower decks of the ship and could not leave the ship in time. The ship had departed from Libya and was en route to Italy.
Coast Guard allegedly pulled the ship over
Even after the disaster, crew members said that the actions of the Greek Coast Guard caused the sinking of the Adriana. The ship allegedly capsized when the Coast Guard tried to tow it.
The Greek authorities have so far denied the allegations. According to Lighthouse Reports, the Coast Guard tried to sabotage the investigation into the disaster. For example, surviving crew members were intimidated when they started talking about the role of the Coast Guard during interrogations.
But the captain of the Coast Guard will now have to answer to the court for the events surrounding the disaster. In addition, crew members of the Coast Guard ship are charged with complicity in the captain’s actions. The then head of the Greek Coast Guard and the supervisor of the national rescue center must also appear in court.
Human rights organizations regularly criticize the actions of the Greek Coast Guard against refugee ships. For example, the Coast Guard is said to tow boats back to outside Greek waters. These are called ‘pushbacks’, and they are prohibited under international treaties.