Two dozen humanitarian workers who participated in search and rescue operations on the Greek island of Lesvos from 2016 to 2021 have now begun their long-awaited trial. The NGO trial in Greece centres on activity during a period when Lesvos- once a popular tourist destination- became a major entry point for people attempting to reach Europe at the height of the migration crisis.
More than 10 years on, the 24 accused face up to 20 years in prison on charges including alleged participation in a criminal organisation, facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Greece and money laundering. While Greek authorities describe the case as a border security issue, human rights organisations have dismissed the accusations as baseless, citing weak evidence and a politically driven crackdown on humanitarian work. The NGO trial in Greece follows years of allegations that Greek authorities have breached international and European law in their handling of migrant arrivals.
In January, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Greek coast guard had “systemically” conducted pushbacks against potential asylum seekers, marking the first official judicial recognition of a practice Greece has long denied.
‘I’m confident what I did was right’
Among the accused is Seán Binder, a German-Irish rescue volunteer who travelled to Lesvos in 2017 aged 23. He worked with the now-defunct Emergency Rescue Centre International (ERCI), a registered Greek NGO. Binder told Euronews he spent most of his time on “spotting shifts”, watching the Turkish mainland for signs of boats in distress and liaising closely with the coast guard and port authority.
His volunteer work ended abruptly when he was arrested in 2018 alongside Syrian NGO worker Sarah Mardini, whose story was fictionalised in the Netflix film The Swimmers. Binder expressed frustration at the seven-year ordeal, questioning why the defendants were not already imprisoned “if we really are these heinous criminals”.
In 2023, Binder and several others were acquitted of misdemeanour charges including forgery, illegal monitoring of radio frequencies and espionage. Additional misdemeanour charges for 16 other defendants were dropped the following year. Binder says he is prepared for the possibility of imprisonment, noting he has saved money so his family can visit him. “I am confident what I did was right,” he said.
Arrivals pushed into a ‘state of invisibility’
No NGOs currently carry out search and rescue or emergency response during landings on Lesvos, despite over 3,500 arrivals recorded this year, according to the UN refugee agency. The last landing attended by first responders took place in March 2020, the same year the Greek government tightened registry rules for organisations working with asylum seekers.
Freelance journalist Franziska Grillmeier told Euronews it has become “much more normalised to deter the work of first aid responders and humanitarian workers”, pushing arrivals into a “state of invisibility”. She added that documenting a boat arrival today would be difficult without scrutiny.
Amnesty International Belgium’s Executive Director Wies de Graeve described the charges as part of a Europe-wide trend “criminalising solidarity”, saying governments are punishing those who fill gaps left by official systems. Similar cases have emerged across the continent: in 2018, three Spanish firemen were tried on smuggling charges for rescue missions on Lesvos but were eventually acquitted. PICUM, a Brussels-based NGO, reports that as many as 142 people faced comparable proceedings in 2024.
The NGO trial in Greece also unfolds against the backdrop of a broader shift in European migration policy, with governments increasingly adopting hard-line approaches and exploring new methods to curb arrivals.
Source: Euronews
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