"Justice for the crime in Pylos - One year later"

Athens, 14 June 2024  On Thursday 13/6/2024, a Press Conference was held at the Athens Bar Association on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the deadly shipwreck off Pylos, which cost the lives of hundreds of people.

53 of the 104 survivors have filed a complaint against all those responsible and are awaiting the completion of the investigation by the prosecutor's office of the Maritime Court. They are represented by the organisations: Network for Social Support of Refugees and Migrants, Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the shipwreck of Pylos, and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).

At the press conference on 13/6/24, the representatives of the organizations presented the developments in the case, stressing that after a year the process and its duration raise concerns and worries.

They noted that at least 23 survivors have been examined as witnesses in the proceedings. They said that requests have been submitted to the Piraeus Maritime Court for the performance of critical investigative acts, including the examination, by experts, of important evidence, such as the movables of the rescued persons and the members of the crew of the Coast Guard vessel, the retrieval or at least the photography of the sunken fishing vessel by submersible, the examination of the recording systems of the port vessel and the carrying out of an expert examination of a number of disputed issues. They noted that the first two requests remain unanswered, and as regards the port vessel's recording systems (VDR), it was reported that they were not even operational during the critical period and were repaired two months after the wreck.

As for the victims of the shipwreck, they said that of the 84 bodies recovered, 8 of them are still unidentified, while another 10 bodies remain unburied, due to the inability to cover the burial costs of their families and asked for the Greek State to cover the relevant costs.

They also noted that many of the survivors who are in the country remain in limbo as regards the settlement of their stay, as their asylum applications are pending, while no procedure has been initiated to grant them residency status as victims/essential witnesses of criminal acts, as required by law.

The participants stated:

Ioanna Kourtovik:

"While Europe is celebrating the signatures to the new Pact and working on new plans to deter and punish those who dare to claim some crumbs of its prosperity, thousands of people are drowning in the crossings that are still places of martyrdom. The tragedy of Pylos tells us once again that the policies of the European Union and the practices of their implementation are murderous."

Eleni Spathana:

"The wreck of Pylos is not a tragic "accident", it is a crime and cannot go unpunished. It is a chronicle of many announced deaths, a crime committed over a period of 15 hours, due to the actions and omissions of the Greek port authorities, with the dominant feature of not activating the due rescue operation - with the knowledge of FRONTEX - and the flagrant violation of all the rules of international and national law governing rescue at sea and the protection of every human life."

Maria Papamina:

"Greece has already been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights in the Farmakonisi case and for the reason that the Greek judicial authorities had not conducted a responsible and effective investigation. We demand from the Greek judicial authorities a full and effective investigation into the largest deadly shipwreck in the Mediterranean in recent years. Once again, the dead demand justice."

Ekaterini Pournara:

"One year after the deadliest shipwreck in the Mediterranean, the tragedy of Pylos remains a call for justice. The hundreds of dead and their relatives are calling for answers and accountability.The lawsuit filed by the survivors at the Piraeus Maritime Court in September 2023 aims to seek the truth and demand criminal accountability for the actions and omissions of the competent Greek authorities. Timely rescue efforts would have saved hundreds of lives. It is necessary to bring the truth to light and to assign criminal responsibility so that such a tragedy never happens again."

Dimitra Linardaki:

"One year after the crime of Pylos, we recall the chronology of the Pylos shipwreck that sheds light on the criminal acts and omissions concerning the search and rescue that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people off Pylos. From the first information to the capsizing and sinking of the fishing boat, 15 hours passed during which a search and rescue operation should have been launched, but was not. The demand of the survivors and the relatives of the dead and missing for justice and fairness remains the demand, because for us people's lives matter and their protection is not discriminatory!"

The press conference was moderated by Vassilis Papadopoulos, lawyer and Chairman of the Board of the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)

You can watch the video of the press conference

We would like to thank Omnia TV for organizing and hosting the webcast.

Organisations:

Network for the Social Support of Refugees and Migrants

Hellenic League for Human Rights (HlHR)

Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)

Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the shipwreck of Pylos

Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)

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