Twenty four former aid workers accused of facilitating the illegal entrance of migrants into Greece, and other crimes that carry lengthy prison terms, are set to appear in court on Lesbos in a trial being closely watched internationally.
Human rights defenders from around the world, including Sarah Mardini, the Syrian refugee immortalised in the Netflix movie, The Swimmers, are slated to take the stand when proceedings before a court of appeals begin in the island’s capital, Mytilene, on Thursday.
“After years of unjustifiable delays we expect the trial on felony charges to finally start,” said Zacharias Kesses, the lawyer representing six of the defendants including Mardini. “At the heart of this case is an attempt by authorities to criminalise humanitarian assistance so that all of these aid organisations leave Lesbos.”
In 2015, at the height of the refugee crisis, Lesbos, which lies within view of the Turkish coast, was on the frontline of the greatest movement of people since the second world war.
More than 800,000 men, women and children, most fleeing Syria’s devastating civil conflict, are believed to have passed through the Aegean isle en route to Europe. In response, hundreds of humanitarians and activists rushed to Greece’s land and sea borders to help.
Among them was Mardini, a former competitive swimmer, who returned to the island after rescuing 18 fellow passengers in 2015 with her sister, Yusra, in a sinking dinghy as it attempted the crossing from Turkey. While the number of arrivals has since dropped dramatically as migration routes have shifted, Lesbos remains a magnet for people seeking asylum in Europe.
The long-awaited hearing on Thursday comes seven years after the arrests of the 24 aid workers, all volunteers with the now dissolved search-and-rescue organisation, ERCI, on Lesbos. Charges range from membership of a criminal organisation to “facilitation of entry of third-country nationals into the country” and money laundering, crimes punishable with up to 20 years in prison under Greek law.
Rights groups have described the accusations as “farcical”.
Amnesty International, which is sending a team of 12 officials to observe proceedings, says the case has played a key role in contributing to “a climate of hostility and intimidation against civil society organisations and individuals assisting people” fleeing persecution and war.
“A big delegation will be here to show our solidarity,” said Laith Abu Zeyad, a campaigner who has flown in from the organisation’s London offices to attend the trial. “These people were doing what anyone would do in similar circumstances, which is to show compassion for others in distress.”
The defendants, mostly in their twenties and thirties at the time of their arrests, have won international sympathy. In January 2023, supporters hailed the rejection of the lesser charge of espionage – regarded as a misdemeanour under Greek law – as indicative of their innocence.
Last year, in what was described as a landmark judgment, a three-member court on Lesbos threw out similar accusations of spying against 35 other aid workers ruling there was insufficient proof to prosecute further.
Greek police, in both cases, claimed activists had monitored maritime radio signals and used encrypted messaging apps to gain advance notification of the location of smugglers’ boats heading from the Turkish coast.
As they arrived on Lesbos this week, defendants whose lives have effectively been put on hold by the prolonged criminal proceedings also voiced concern about the gravity of the charges they now face.
Sean Binder, a German-born Irishman who, like Mardini, spent 100 days behind bars after his arrest in 2018, described his nervousness ahead of the trial even if he also welcomed it finally going ahead.
If found guilty, the accused will be able to appeal, but lawyers say the procedure would probably take years.
“Of course I am nervous,” said Binder, a trainee lawyer.
“Frankly, I am glad we are here … we’re now in our seventh year and we’ve just wanted to get to this point because we’re pretty confident that doing search-and-rescue is not in fact criminal, and a court will find that to be the case. Until then, there will be a suspicion of criminality hanging over not just us, but all acts of search and rescue, all humanitarianism and all solidarity.”
Ahead of the trial Amnesty International, which has championed Binder, called on Greek authorities to drop the charges.
“Sean did what any of us would hope to do in his position: help people in danger in one of the deadliest sea routes in Europe,” said Abu Zayed. “This is not just humane – it is lawful and necessary. It is farcical that this trial is happening at all.”
