ATHENS, Greece (AP) 鈥 Rights groups are demanding criminal charges be brought against members of Greece鈥檚 coast guard over a deadly 2023 migrant shipwreck, after the country's ombudsman released a report noting 鈥渃lear indications鈥 that officers had overlooked the danger posed by the boat that sank.
The Adriana, a massively overcrowded fishing trawler, had been heading from Libya to Italy with an estimated 500-750 people on board when it sank in international waters west of Pylos in western Greece in June 2023. Only 104 people survived, while 82 bodies were recovered. The rest went down with the trawler in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean.
An independent into the shipwreck concluded this week that there were 鈥渃lear indications鈥 that eight senior coast guard officers should face disciplinary action for overlooking the dangers posed by the trawler.
The coast guard, which had been notified about the boat by Italian authorities, had been shadowing the vessel for hours as it sailed in international waters but within Greece鈥檚 area of responsibility for search and rescue.
At the time, the coast guard said the Adriana's captain had insisted he did not want assistance and wanted to continue sailing to Italy. But several survivors said passengers had been calling for help repeatedly, and during an attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow it.
The ombudsman said Monday its report noted 鈥渁 series of serious and reproachable omissions in the search and rescue duties by senior officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard which constitute clear indications鈥 for establishing a case against the officers for endangering the lives of the Adriana鈥檚 passengers.
The independent body began its own investigation in November 2023 after 鈥渢he direct refusal of a disciplinary investigation by the Coast Guard,鈥 it said.
The Shipping and Island Policy Ministry, under whose jurisdiction the coast guard lies, rejected the ombudsman鈥檚 report, accusing it of 鈥渁ttempting to shift the conversation from the criminal smuggling networks to the members of the coast guard, who fight day and night for the protection of the country.鈥
It accused the report of frequently favoring versions of events that called into question the coast guard鈥檚 actions 鈥渨ithout the slightest credible evidence.鈥
鈥淎t a time when irregular migration is causing global concern, the government remains steadfastly committed to a strict but fair policy of guarding the country鈥檚 borders,鈥 the statement said.
Rights groups hailed the ombudsman鈥檚 report, and blasted the government鈥檚 reaction. The ministry鈥檚 statement 鈥渋s a monument of hypocrisy but also a confession it will continue to cover up the crime,鈥 said the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat, or KEERFA, which called for a protest rally outside a naval court in the Greece's main port city of Piraeus Thursday evening.
Lawyers representing some of the survivors filed a request with the Piraeus naval court in December seeking criminal charges to be brought against members of the search and rescue operation.
鈥淭he transparency of administrative action and the attribution of responsibilities, where applicable, for the deadly Pylos shipwreck is an elementary legal demand, inextricably linked to the respect of the rule of law,鈥 Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis said in a statement. 鈥淎s is the thorough investigation of any other incident connected to the violation of the right to life, health and physical integrity.鈥
