Survivors of migrant shipwreck file lawsuit against Greek authorities

ATHENS, Greece: Survivors of a migrant shipwreck off Greece in June, in which hundreds died, filed a lawsuit against the Greek authorities on Thursday, accusing them of violating their duty to protect the lives of the people on board the vessel.

The overcrowded fishing trawler said to be carrying between 400-750 people from Pakistan, Syria and Egypt sank in international waters off Greece on its way to Italy from Libya. Some 104 men survived and authorities recovered only 82 bodies.

Survivors have recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water and a disastrous attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow the vessel which capsized, according to interviews and evidence seen by media.

The Greek coastguard and government have said they were monitoring the vessel for hours and no attempt was made to tow the boat which overturned when the coastguard was about 70 metres away.

A judicial investigation into the causes of the disaster is under way and could take more than a year to be completed. On Thursday, 40 survivors filed a lawsuit complaining that “Greek authorities failed to intervene immediately and organize an appropriate operation in time to rescue those on board,” a statement by the Hellenic League for Human Rights, one of their representatives, said.

They say the vessel was “clearly unseaworthy” and also call for “an immediate, thorough and credible investigation” into the causes of the deadliest boat disaster in the Mediterranean in recent years.

Lawyers representing families of the missing have filed a request to judicial authorities investigating the case for the boat to be retrieved. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are among the rights organisations that have called for a “a full and credible investigation” that “should involve taking the testimonies of all survivors under conditions that guarantee their trust and safety”.

In the aftermath of the sinking, a Greek Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into the wreck but stated it should be carried out with complete secrecy. Lawyers said as far as they were aware, none of the survivors had yet to be called to testify.

A group of nine Egyptians who survived the wreck have been accused of smuggling, manslaughter and forming a criminal organisation, charges that could result in life sentences. They all deny the allegations.

The case filed this week was brought by a collective of lawyers working on behalf of survivors, including the Network for Refugee and Migrant Rights, the Hellenic League for Human Rights, the Greek Council for Refugees, the Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the Pylos Shipwreck and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).

Eleni Spathana, a lawyer from the RSA, said they had filed a criminal complaint “against all responsible state actors of all competent Greek authorities who by their liable acts and omissions led to the tragic shipwreck of June 14, 2023, near Pylos and the loss of hundreds of people”.

“As lawyers at RSA, we represent the victims who survived this tragedy, whose life has also been jeopardised and who experienced the traumatic loss of relatives and friends, seeking justice for all the victims of this tragic shipwreck,” she said.