An Irish defendant of the 24 aid workers accused of espionage in Greece stated that he was in legal trouble after they were accused of espionage. Trial The postponement prolonged an ordeal that highlighted the growing hostility towards non-governmental organizations involved in the solidarity work of immigrants.
A three-person panel of judges on the island of Lesbos in the Aegean brought the case to the Court of Appeal for lack of jurisdiction where the crime was allegedly committed. It is not clear when the higher court will hold a meeting.
“I’m very angry and disappointed,” Sean Binder, a 27-year-old Irish law student, said after a chaotic hearing that the media was barred from attending. “This means that while we wait for justice, there are still months of uncertainty. I may not have been convicted today, but in fact I still have no freedom. Humanitarian criminal convictions continue.”
Almost all rescuers are volunteers, including Greeks and foreigners, who have participated in search and rescue work on the Aegean island of Lesbos on the front line of the refugee crisis.
In addition to engaging in espionage, they are also accused of forging and illegally intercepting radio frequencies-crimes that carry up to eight years in prison.
Binder is a trained rescue diver who moved to Lesbos in 2017 and is also facing charges of human trafficking, money laundering and fraud. The latter is based on accusations that he used a military jeep with a stolen license plate to enter the restricted area while working for the now-defunct NGO Emergency Response Center International (ERCI).
Sarah Mardini is a competitive swimmer who helped 18 Syrian compatriots avoid drowning when their dinghy sank in Turkey-accused of the same crime and also volunteering for ERCI service. As she is barred from entering the country, she will be tried in absentia.
The two were detained for 106 days before trial, and Maldini was Being held in high security in Athens Corridalos prison.
She is now 25 years old and has been granted asylum in Germany. If convicted, both could face 25 years in prison.
Amid calls for the allegations to be dropped, supporters in European cities took to the streets.Before Thursday’s trial, the European Parliament condemned the prosecution as the largest Unity criminal conviction Work is being carried out on the African continent.
Human rights groups called these allegations “comical.” Outside the neoclassical court building on Lesbos, protesters held banners that read “Saving lives is not a crime.”
“Today’s decision aggravated the suffering of the defendants and intensified the violation of their human rights,” said Giorgos Kosmopoulos, a senior immigration activist at Amnesty International who oversees court hearings. “Sarah and Sean have paid a huge personal price, and now is the time to drop the charges.”
The case is seen as a symbol of immigrant solidarity with workers and is now undergoing unparalleled scrutiny Europe, 180 people in 13 countries currently facing criminal convictions are involved in the work of NGOs.
In Athens, the center-right government of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been severely criticized for rights groups condemning its hostile remarks against refugees and NGOs, while violence on the Greek land and sea borders The expulsion of asylum seekers exacerbated the situation.
Mizotakis angrily denies allegations fight back Believing that Greek patrols “intercepted” migrant ships as permitted by EU law until the Turkish Coast Guard’s ships collect them-he said, part of an agreement reached between Brussels and Ankara five years ago to stop the flow of migrants.
But he acknowledged that his government, as the provider of the external borders of Southeast Europe, pursues a “tough but fair” immigration policy. “Unless you manage to send a clear signal to protect the border, more people will try to enter illegally,” he said on the TV show “Good Morning Britain” on Tuesday.
As the borders of Fort Europe become more secure and militarized, humanitarians complain of increasing harassment.
This week, Yanis Varoufakis, the leader of the left-wing MeRA 25 opposition party, told the Greek Parliament that the accusations against Binder and Martini made the country’s international notoriety and said it was “not so harsh”. The period of time”, young radicals will be rewarded for their idealism, rather than prosecuted.
“We did what was legally and morally correct and saved people in distress at sea,” Binder said. “There is not a trace of evidence against us because we did nothing wrong. It doesn’t make sense. Sarah was held for three months because she was considered at risk of escape. When the trial happened, she was not even allowed to participate. .”
Zacharias Kesses, a criminal lawyer representing militants, said that although he does not know when the case will be heard next, there is still room for optimism.
“Judges in higher-level three-person courts are more experienced,” he said. “This gives us confidence that we will have the opportunity to express our opinions and our arguments are properly evaluated, although none of these should go to court in the first place.”
