Syrian swimmer among activists cleared by Greek court of aiding migrant rescues

LESBOS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court on Thursday acquitted a group of rescue volunteers who aided migrants on the island of Lesbos, ending a case that drew criticism from international human rights groups.

The 24 defendants include Syrian competitive swimmer Sarah Mardini, who was arrested in 2018 and whose ordeal inspired the 2022 Netflix sporting drama “The Swimmers.”

The court ruled that volunteers with Emergency Response Centre International, a Greek-nonprofit, not guilty on charges of facilitating illegal entry and forming a criminal organization.

The prosecutor had already urged acquittal, saying the charges lacked evidence and noting that one of the defendants routinely alerted port authorities to approaching boats.

Supporters clapped and cheered the acquitted volunteers as they emerged from the court building. Many of the group, who had spent hours in court, went for a celebratory night-time swim in the island port. “We didn’t do anything illegal,” Mardini said. “If helping people is a crime, then we are all guilty.” The ruling – welcomed by human rights groups – follows an earlier acquittal on related charges in separate trials. “The acquittals are a vindication for the defendants but are also bittersweet: Two dozen people were subjected to a seven-year legal ordeal on baseless charges for saving lives,” said Eva Cosse, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Sarah Mardini fled war in Syria in 2015 with her younger sister and fellow swimmer Yusra Mardini who went on to compete the following year in the first ever refugee team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two sisters survived a dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Lesbos, and later described swimming for hours to keep an overcrowded dinghy afloat. After settling in Germany, the older sister returned to Lesbos for volunteer work and was jailed for more than three months in pre-trial detention following her arrest in 2018. Thursday’s decision was announced as Greece and several other European Union governments are intensifying a crackdown on irregular migration with plans to expand deportations for people whose asylum claims are rejected. Eve Geddie, a senior official at Amnesty International, urged European governments to safeguard humanitarian assistance.

“We hope today’s decision sends a strong signal to Greece and other European countries that solidarity, compassion and defending human rights should be protected and celebrated, not punished,” she said.

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Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.