In the case of the fatal ramming of a boat carrying Syrian and Iranian refugees by the Hellenic Coast Guard off Chios in October 2023.
Athens, Wednesday, 20 May 2026
An appeal lodged by lawyers of the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), against the order of the Prosecutor of the Naval Court of Piraeus — which had dismissed the refugees’ criminal complaint in the case concerning the ramming of their boat by a Coast Guard vessel in the sea area of Nenita, Chios, in October 2023, resulting in the death of one refugee, a husband and father of three children, and the serious injury of several others — has been upheld.
The Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal found that there are that there are “specific indications” – “reasonable suspicions” that the Coast Guard vessel rammed the refugees’ boat and that the commander of the Coast Guard vessel foresaw as possible that his actions could cause death or grievous bodily harm and accepted that outcome. The Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal ordered the Prosecutor of the Naval Court of Piraeus to initiate criminal prosecution against the commander of the Hellenic Coast Guard vessel for homicide with eventual intent (dolus eventualis), grievous bodily harm, and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm. Criminal prosecution and the opening of a main investigation are now expected.
Maria Papamina and Alkistis Agrafioti, the victims’ lawyers from the Legal Unit of the Greek Council for Refugees, stated: “This legal development is particularly significant, as the Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal took into account, among other elements of the case file, the claims of the victims, which are grounded in common sense, and was not persuaded by the official and irrational narrative of the Coast Guard — according to which the alleged driver of the overloaded inflatable boat supposedly attempted to ram the technologically advanced and larger Coast Guard vessel — but instead concluded that there is reasonable suspicion that the commander of the Coast Guard vessel intentionally rammed the refugees’ boat. We would also like to note that this case presents similar characteristics to the more recent case involving the ramming of a refugee boat off Chios in February 2026, which resulted in 15 deaths and many injuries, and for which an investigation into alleged criminal acts by the Coast Guard is ongoing.”
Finally, it should not be forgotten that this development follows the criminal prosecution brought against 21 officers and members of the Hellenic Coast Guard in relation to the deadly shipwreck off
Pylos, while ineffective criminal investigations have resulted in dozens of other cases being closed without justice being delivered to the victims.
Contact Information: GCR Communications Officer: Konstantinos Vlachopoulos: k.vlachopoulos@gcr.gr
