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Greece / 17 coastguards and captain charged over sinking of boat carrying 650 migrants

2025-05-27 21:00:49Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Greece / 17 coastguards and captain charged over sinking of boat carrying 650

A maritime court in Greece has charged 17 coastguards over the deadliest migrant boat disaster in the Mediterranean Sea.

Up to 650 people drowned when the overcrowded fishing vessel Adriana sank near Pylos, off the Greek coast, in the early hours of June 14, 2023.

Survivors later said that the Greek coastguard had caused their ship to capsize in a failed attempt to tow it and then attempted to intimidate witnesses.

"It took us two years just to file these charges, even though so many people witnessed what happened," one of the survivors said on Monday. Greek authorities have always denied the allegations against them.

The Deputy Prosecutor of the Piraeus Maritime Court has determined that 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard should face criminal charges.

Among them is the captain of the coast guard vessel, LS-920, who is accused of "causing a shipwreck," leading to the deaths of "at least 82 people."

This corresponds to the number of bodies found, although it is thought that up to 500 more people drowned, including women and children who were all below decks of the ship.

The disaster occurred in international waters, but within Greece's rescue zone, the BBC reports.

The then-Chief of the Coast Guard and the Supervisor of the National Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Piraeus are among four officials accused of "exposing others to danger."

The captain of the LS-920 is also charged with "dangerous interference with maritime transport" as well as "failure to render assistance" to the migrant ship.

The ship's crew is accused of "simple collaboration" in all actions allegedly committed by the captain.

A coast guard ship had monitored the Adriana for 15 hours before it sank.

The ship was sailing from Libya to Italy with around 750 people on board. Only 104 of them are known to have survived.

The joint legal team representing survivors and victims of the disaster said the decision to pursue a case against the 17 coastguards was a major step forward towards justice.

In a statement, it said: "Almost two years after the shipwreck in Pylos, the prosecution and referral to the main investigation for serious crimes of 17 members of the Coast Guard, including senior officers of its leadership, constitutes a significant and self-evident development in the course of vindication of the victims and the establishment of justice."

The 17 people who have been charged will now be questioned in the coming weeks by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Maritime Court of Piraeus.

The court will then decide whether to send them to a full trial or dismiss the charges.

It is not clear what punishment the Coast Guardsmen could receive if found guilty.


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