Rights groups also argued that the defendants’ right to a fair trial was compromised by ‘incomplete’ evidence.
A Greek court has dismissed charges against nine Egyptian men accused of causing a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants last year after a prosecutor said that Greece lacked jurisdiction.
Shortly after the trial opened on Tuesday in the southern city of Kalamata, public prosecutor Ekaterini Tsironi recommended that the charges be dismissed, saying that Greek jurisdiction could not be established because the overcrowded trawler sank outside the country’s territorial waters.
Before the trial, international human rights groups argued that the defendants’ right to a fair trial had been compromised as they faced judgment before an investigation had been concluded into claims the Hellenic Coast Guard may have botched the rescue attempt.
A small group of protesters clashed with riot police earlier on Tuesday outside the court as the proceedings got under way.
The defendants, most of whom are in their 20s, could have faced up to life in prison if convicted on multiple criminal charges over the sinking of the Adriana fishing trawler on June 14, 2023.
As many as 750 people on board the trawler, which was travelling from Libya to Italy, and more than 550 people are believed to have died, according to rights groups and independent investigators.
Following the sinking, 104 people were rescued – mostly from Syria, Pakistan and Egypt – and 82 bodies were recovered.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the shipwreck off the southern coast of Greece as “horrific”.
Allegations against Hellenic Coast Guard
Lawyers from Greek human rights groups represent the nine Egyptians, who deny the smuggling charges.
“There’s a real risk that these nine survivors could be found ‘guilty’ based on incomplete and questionable evidence given that the official investigation into the role of the coastguard has not yet been completed,” Judith Sunderland, an associate director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch (HRW) had said before Tuesday’s dismissal.
Authorities had said the defendants were identified by other survivors, and the indictments were based on their testimonies.
Survivor testimonies provided to Al Jazeera pin the blame on the Greek coastguard, which attempted to tow the vessel, causing it to flip over, saying that it did not sufficiently act to save the lives of those in the water.
The Hellenic Coast Guard has denied these allegations.
Sunderland posted on X that “it’s really important to remember that justice will only be done via a full and transparent accounting of the responsibilities of the Greek authorities”.
A joint Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch report, based on testimonies from representatives of the Hellenic Coast Guard, the Greek police, and nongovernmental organisations, also concluded that the coastguard did not properly respond to distress calls.
An investigation in Greece’s naval court into the Hellenic Coast Guard’s role in the shipwreck has yet to be concluded.
“The Pylos 9 defendants were unjustly arrested and charged with smuggling offences based on limited and questionable evidence,” Marion Bouchetel, a member of Legal Centre Lesvos, which is defending the accused, told Al Jazeera.
“Our argument, following the testimonies of the survivors, is that these nine people are not responsible for the sinking at the very least. The coastguard is responsible for the sinking,” Stefanos Levidis, one of the lead researchers in an investigation into the shipwreck, told Al Jazeera.
