"Last week, 24 members of a sea rescue organization have been tried by a court on the Greek island of Lesbos. In the case of a conviction, they would face long prison sentences, possibly decades in prison; among them, the former Syrian rescue swimmer Sara Mardini, whose escape story was documented and published on Netflix. A European Parliament investigative report from June 2021 called the trial "the biggest case of criminalization of refugee solidarity in Europe." (ARD, 2023) Most of the charges against Sara have been dropped on Friday. However, the case itself once again points out a worrying trend shunning humanitarianism that can increasingly be observed at the European borders…"
More than 100 days in prison
In 2015, Sara and her sister Yusra fled Damascus because of the devastating war that has destroyed most of their country’s infrastructure. They reached Turkey via Lebanon, where a smuggler shipped them to Europe in an overcrowded rubber dinghy. Before they could reach the coast of Lesbos, the engine failed, and the boat threatened to sink. Sara and Yusra, both trained competitive swimmers, jumped overboard and swam to pull the inflatable boat with its 18 occupants ashore. From Greece, the sisters made their way to Germany via the Balkan route (ARD, 2023).
The Netflix story ends here, but in reality, the drama continues, at least for Sara. She returned to Lesbos to also work as a volunteer for the same aid organization as Sean Binder – another volunteer – until both were eventually arrested while still in Greece.
"Sara Mardini and I were arrested because we were accused of incredibly serious crimes," says Binder, "including membership of a criminal organization, aiding and abetting illegal entry, money laundering, forgery, the illegal use of radio frequencies, and espionage. If we are found guilty, we will be sent to prison for 20 years” (ARD, 2023, Harlan, 2023)
The two have already spent more than 100 days in prison immediately after their arrest in Greece. For nearly five years, Mardini, Binder and 22 other defendants have been waiting for the trial to begin.
The trials have started
On the 10th of January the time had come - except that Sara Mardini herself was not able to attend. That is because the Greek authorities have imposed an entry ban on the 27-year-old, and she is officially considered a threat to national security. Thus, she was not allowed to testify in court personally, but only through a lawyer. Mardini, Binder, and all other defendants denied the charges. Glykeria Arapi of Amnesty International commented on the case: "It is a trend we are seeing in Greece and other European countries that acts of solidarity are being criminalized. The message is that it's a crime to help people in need, refugees, migrants whose lives are at risk at sea." There has been no official comment on the case from the Greek authorities or the prosecutor's office. An inquiry from one of the biggest German news outlets, ARD, remained unanswered (Overend, 2023).
Temporary relief was finally provided last Friday, the 13th of January. Sara Mardini had her charges dropped by a Greek court for largely procedural reasons. Sara is technically still under investigation for felony offenses, including human trafficking but considering the next month's deadline, however, it is deemed unlikely that the case will be reopened by the prosecution.
Shortly after her victory in court, Mardini posted a statement on social media: “Today we finally received some positive news after over 4 years of limbo,” she wrote on Instagram. “The judges decided to drop some of the misdemeanour charges due to the error-ridden indictment and the expiration of the statute of limitations for some charges. But this is not justice,” she continued. “If the same strategy of procedural errors and extensive delays is continued for the remaining felony charges, we have another 15 years of limbo before we can prove our innocence. We would not have achieved this small victory without the immense support inside and outside Greece. Our fight for justice continues.”
Defence lawyer Evita Papakyriakidou stated that the “outcome undermines the legal basis” for future charges. Another defence lawyer, Zacharias Kesses, added that “looking at the sea through a pair of binoculars is not enough to build an espionage case.” After the great 2015 refugee crisis, the Greek government was overwhelmed by the influx of undocumented migrants. Authorities have been accused of violent pushbacks, a violation of maritime law in which migrant boats are forced back into international waters. The trial against Mardini and others in Lesbos was not the only Greek case against groups that are involved in migrant work. “This case is really an indictment of the Greek authorities, who are going after people for saving lives the authorities didn’t want them to save. Meanwhile the Greek government continues to restrict humanitarian rescue while also illegally pushing back refugees and migrants, forcing them into the deadly situations that humanitarians tried to alleviate.” said Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch (ARD, 2023, Overend, 2023).
Immediate Action is needed:
Cases like Sara’s are not only illustrating the pertaining issue of the criminalization of humanitarian work at European borders but is meanwhile clearly demonstrating the incompetence of the Greek authorities and the entire European Union to appropriately deal with the influx of refugees and migrants from conflict zones in North Africa and the Middle East. Arguably no noteworthy progress has been made since 2015 in the handling of migrant situations at the southern borders. Instead of providing a safe haven, as well as a fair and organized processing of incoming individuals, authorities engage in inhumane strategies to dispose of humans in need and prosecute volunteers like Sara that put their wellbeing on the line to help refugees. European lawmakers need to understand that the refugee and migrant crisis is not something that can simply be ignored and will ‘go away’ nor is it something that can be solved by violating human rights and prosecuting activists in the attempt to protect those rights. It is rather a situation that in the face of increasing conflicts and climate change, will very likely become an even more pressing issue soon. A rapid and fundamental change in the approach to asylum- and migration policymaking is needed to avoid future humanitarian crises at the Europe’s borders and a further escalation of the situation. Especially for those most vulnerable: children.
----------
References
Harlan, C. (2023). Greek court rejects charges against aid workers, including Sarah Mardini of ‘The Swimmers’. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/13/greek-court-rejects-charges-against-aid-workers-including-sara-mardini-swimmers/
Overend, R. (2023). Greek Authotities drop charges against former Syrian swimmer Sara Mardini. SwimSwam. https://swimswam.com/greek-authorities-drop-charges-against-former-syrian-swimmer-sara-mardini/
Schälter, V. (2023). Sarah Mardini und andere Flüchtlingshelfer vor Gericht. ARD Studio Athens. https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/europa/griechenland-prozess-mardini-101.html
Comments