On December 4 and 5, after a seven-year wait, two dozen humanitarian workers on the Greek island of Lesbos finally faced trial, with potential sentences of up to 20 years. The defendants, associated with the search and rescue group Emergency Response Center International, work to save the lives of asylum seekers, migrants, and refugees crossing the dangerous waters from Turkey. Early hearings quickly revealed the case against them to be without merit.
The central allegation, based on a police detective’s investigation, claims that between 2016 and 2018 the organization operated as a smuggling ring facilitating irregular migration. However, the detective admitted to knowing nothing about the group’s longstanding cooperation with the Hellenic Coast Guard. A Coast Guard official confirmed that the group regularly informed authorities about migrant boats and coordinated rescue operations, with the group even receiving awards from both the Coast Guard and the EU border agency Frontex.
Other claims in the case are equally unfounded. The detective suggested, without evidence, that the group must have received boat information from smugglers, when in fact it came from migrants’ relatives or through chat apps and social media used for coordinating rescues. Allegations that the group’s use of encrypted communications was suspicious ignored the fact that these were WhatsApp groups set up by the United Nations refugee agency for legitimate rescue coordination. Expressions of concern by the defendants for the safety of boats were mischaracterized as proof of smuggling, when they were genuine fears for human lives.
Since 2018, prosecutions like this have forced nearly all similar humanitarian groups to cease search and rescue operations, contributing to hundreds of migrant deaths at sea. The hearings are set to continue in mid-January, with defendants hoping for a resolution that will end the long-standing criminalization of activists in Lesbos.
