Among the dozens of Syrian ‘heroes’ swimmers who will be tried in Greece Refugee News

Athens, Greece – Sarah Mardini, a Syrian competitive swimmer who was a hero in saving the lives of refugees at sea, is among dozens of humanitarian workers in Greece who have been jailed for decades.

The trial of 24 defendants who were working to help people arriving on the European island of Lesbos in Greece will begin on Thursday.

They were members of an NGO, the Emergency Response Center International (ERCI), a search and rescue team that operated on the Greek island from 2016 to 2018.

They have been sentenced to eight years in prison for spying on and disclosing state secrets, and up to 25 years in prison, including smuggling and money laundering.

Amnesty International has called the allegations “unfair and unfounded”.

Three years ago, Mardini and Sean Binder, an Irish citizen and rescue diver, were on bail when they were arrested while in Lesbos, accused of smuggling, espionage, illegal use of radio frequency and fraud.

They spent more than 100 days in pretrial detention before being released on bail in December 2018.

The trial, which will begin on Thursday, could be the first of a number of possible lawsuits related to the proceedings initiated by the Greek authorities in 2018.

Mardini, 25, arrived in Lesbos as a refugee from Syria in 2015.

He and his sister Yusra Mardini, now an Olympic swimmer, were very famous for their courage and humanitarian spirit. When the engine of the refugee ship they were traveling in crashed, they rescued 18 fellow passengers by taking the sinking ship to safety.

Sarah returned to the island three years later, in 2018, to volunteer on a search and rescue mission. There he met Binder, 27, and they both worked for people who had just arrived in Lesbos to seek asylum before being arrested.

Rights groups have called for the allegations to be dropped and highlighted the inconsistency and inaccuracy in the prosecution’s case.

“The misuse of the criminal justice system by the Greek authorities seems to be designed to prosecute these humanitarian rescues to thwart future rescue efforts, which will only endanger lives,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate director of children’s rights at Human Rights Watch.

“Investigations and senseless accusations against people involved in life-saving work, including espionage, lead to a politically motivated accusation.”

Colm O’Gorman, head of Amnesty International Ireland, said: “Sean Binder, who grew up in Ireland, has seen a lot of support from our whole society, and we know that the world will be watching what happens in Greece. This week. He and other humanitarians the need to face imprisonment for showing basic human dignity and compassion is a moral stain for Europe.

“Asylum is not a crime; trying to save people from drowning in the sea is not a crime. Europe must stop criminalizing humanitarian aid and start protecting those fleeing our shores in search of security. “

Some espionage charges have been raised by authorities, who say the volunteers are communicating through an encrypted messaging service, and it has been revealed that this is a commonly used WhatsApp app.

Zacharias Kesses, a lawyer for Mardini and Binder, told Al Jazeera that he had presented “strong evidence” that ERCI communicated with the port police whenever he had information so that police and NGOs could work together to get the best search results. -and rescue operations.

“This is the most distinctive incident of judicial persecution against humanitarians,” he said.

“This is the path they chose three years ago to send humanitarians and NGOs from the islands and they got it. This case was very popular because it was the first time that volunteers were imprisoned [and] that’s why many other volunteers left the islands for fear that they would have the same result. ‘

Nassos Karakitsos, the field director of ECRI and one of those facing the charges, told Al Jazeera that the case was a complete surprise as they were assisting the Greek Coast Guard and Frontex in their work.

“I have a 25-year prison sentence for really helping people,” he said.

“They try to scare people away, which is why we are afraid that they might need us as an example,” he noted, adding that the case has scared others away from helping to criminalize asylum seekers.

“Even now no one dares to help people with water, food, some blankets.”

The Greek government says it has taken a hard line on refugees, but considers its policies “firm but fair”.

However, Greek authorities have repeatedly accused the asylum seekers who have arrived in Greek territory of being deported.

Extensive reports have shown that asylum seekers, including children and infants, are being evacuated from the Greek islands and abandoned at sea in rescue rafts.

“I feel angry because we have to go to trial,” Binder told Al Jazeera. “We haven’t done anything wrong, and we’re willing to argue that. It has taken a huge economic and emotional toll and we want this to end, we have nothing to hide ”.

He said the cases are discouraging rescue workers, “and now, three years later, there is no search and civil rescue. [teams] Leaving Lesbos ”.

Binder and Karakitsos plan to attend the trial, but Mardini, who lives in Germany as an asylum seeker, is banned from entering Greece, a ban they did not rescind on court day.

“Searching and rescuing is the right thing to do morally and legally, every inch of maritime law requires it,” Binder said.

“However, we consider the securitization of the border to be illegal to build a fort across Europe. Now that the crisis is seen through the prism of ‘smuggling’, search and rescuers enter with the smuggler, which is the main theme of this false narrative of ‘pull factors’.