Podcast Series – Episode One

“The Farmakonisi case – Justice served after 8 years”

“If they wanted to save us, we were close to Greek territory and they could have taken us to Greece instead of sending us back to the middle of the sea, back to Turkey to drown us.”

Chrisa Wilkens: Welcome to the Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) Podcast series entitled “Border Policies and Rights Violations”. We are Chrisa Wilkens and Eirini Gaitanou. You are listening the first episode of the podcast entitled “The Farmakonisi case – Justice served after 8 years”.

This is an episode that focuses on the deadly shipwreck that took place in Farmakonisi in January 2014. Eight years later, in July 2022, the European Court of Human Rights, in its landmark ruling, condemned Greece for the shipwreck. We chose to deal in this first episode, through interviews and archival material, with the shipwreck at Farmakonisi, because of the symbolic and political significance of Greece’s condemnation.

Eirini Gaitanou: The European Court’s ruling not only vindicates the victims of the tragic incident and their relatives, but also highlights the country’s responsibility to respect human rights. It is time to finally address structural problems regarding the management of sea arrivals of refugees and migrants, which are directly related to the Greek and European policy on asylum and migration. Even more so today, shortly after the tragic shipwreck in Pylos, from which only 104 people were rescued and more than 600 are missing: a shipwreck that constitutes the most tragic consequence of the European and Greek policy of deterrence.

Chrisa Wilkens: On January 20, 2014, shortly after two o’clock at midnight, an 8-meter boat without a captain, carrying 27 refugees from Afghanistan, Syria and Palestine sinks near Farmakonisi. Eight children and three women die by drowning. The sixteen survivors claim the incident happened while the boat was being towed at high speed by a Greek Coast Guard vessel back towards Turkey during an informal forced return operation, a so-called push back. The Greek authorities admitted to towing the boat, but claimed that they were pulling it towards Farmakonisi to rescue the refugees, and it capsized due to panic and sudden movements among the passengers.

Six months after the shipwreck, the Piraeus Naval Court Prosecutor decided to archive the case, without examining the report of informal forced return, thus ending the judicial investigation into the responsibilities of the Coast Guard at the level of the Greek justice system. The survivors decided to seek justice beyond Greece. In early 2015, they filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with the legal assistance of the Group of Lawyers for the rights of migrants and refugees, the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), the Network of social support for refugees and migrants and the German Foundation PRO ASYL. Eight years later, in July 2022, the European Court condemned Greece.

Eirini Gaitanou: This is a landmark decision regarding the violations and omissions of the Greek authorities at the border. The European Court highlighted, among other things, the delayed notification of the National Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (EKSED), the delayed activation of a rescue operation, the absence of life jackets in the Greek Coast Guard vessel, the fact that the interpreter used did not speak the language of the survivors, the alteration of the content of the statements, the mistreatment and humiliation of the survivors.

The survivors were legally assisted, among others, by lawyers Eleni Spathana and Marianna Tzeferakou. Today, they both work in the legal team of Refugee Support Aegean (RSA). Marianna Tzeferakou, who had undertaken legal support for the survivors on behalf of the German Foundation PRO ASYL, recalls:

“There were people who had lost all their family members, or most of their family members. There were these three men who had lost their wives and children. I should say that, even after the European Court’s decision, when we spoke to the survivors who had lost their family members, they told us that the pain clearly continues, the loss cannot be repaired. It was just important for them that justice was served and it was important that this would not happen again to other people.”

Archival Material: SKAI’s main newscast with Sia Kossioni on 14 June 2023: “Unimaginable tragedy in international waters off Pylos: 79 migrants dead – 104 rescued”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDPdRMt4cwg&ab_channel=SKAI.gr

Chrisa Wilkens: The interviews for this podcast took place a few days after the tragic shipwreck in Pylos on June 14, 2023. The survivors spoke about towing the boat on this occasion as well. Marianna Tzeferakou underlines:

“Significant changes should have been made after this incident in terms of rescue, in terms of how the Greek authorities at the borders deal with newly arrived refugees regarding Push Backs. However, today as we speak, what we are unfortunately witnessing is exactly the opposite. We are witnessing a deadly shipwreck, the Pylos shipwreck. It is clear that there is at least responsibility on the part of the Greek authorities for omissions, if not for their actions. And other practices continue at the borders, such as the pushbacks, which also lead to life loss.”

Eirini Gaitanou: The Greek government submitted in early June an Action Plan to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, to monitor the implementation of this specific decision of the European Court. In that, the Greek government concluded that the Farmakonisi case was isolated and did not correspond to systemic violations regarding rescue operations. The Government considers that by informing the competent authorities, it has taken sufficient measures to prevent a recurrence of a similar incident. However, in recent years, through dozens of complaints, the systemic nature of the violations has been highlighted (see RSA’s legal note “Beyond Farmakonisi: The responsibility of the Greek Coast Guard for human rights violations at sea”). Marianna Tzeferakou explains:

“We believe that this is not an isolated incident. It is an incident which shows that, unfortunately, rescue is not always a priority when compared to border surveillance operations. There are other cases pending before the European Court, supported by RSA, which are related to how the Greek authorities treat newly arrived refugees. There is a case that RSA has dealt with previously. It was a shipwreck that had taken place in Agathonisi, a case pending before the European Court which concerns, again, failures related to rescue. This is neither an isolated incident. I will repeat it: there are systematic deficiencies in rescue operations, but also there are practices such as pushbacks or the abandonment of people in floating rafts, which put people’s lives at risk. It should be clear that in all operations at sea, respect and protection of human life is the priority.”

Chrisa Wilkens: The lawyer Eleni Spathana, who had legally assisted the survivors as a member of the Group of Lawyers for the rights of migrants and refugees, explains that the case of Farmakonisi was legally very clear for a vessel that was in distress within Greek territorial waters.

“Specifically, the Court took into account mainly the facts, as objectively established from all sides, namely that we had a vessel which – when detected by the Greek authorities – it was a vessel not seaworthy, a vessel immobilized, a vessel on which there were particularly vulnerable persons, women and children, and a vessel which was within Greek territorial waters. So, none of the actions that are expected to have been taken in order precisely to activate the search and rescue mechanism, were taken. These would be the adequate actions, specifically provided for by international regulations and rules.”

Eirini Gaitanou: According to the European Court ruling and the official information, the National Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (EKSED) was belatedly informed by the Greek Coast Guard vessel operating at the scene, when the vessel had already been half-sunk, while the distress signal (“Mayday Relay”) was sent 10 minutes after the vessel had fully sunk. Furthermore, in the meantime, no preparatory action was taken to ensure the necessary means in order to rescue the passengers.

Despite the danger the vessel was in and the appeals for help from the passengers, no rescue operation was launched – but a border surveillance operation. While the vessel was completely sunk at 2.16am, the coastguard vessel sent to provide assistance arrived after 3.30am and a helicopter arrived a few minutes before 4am (see the ECtHR judgment on the Farmakonisi shipwreck (Safi and others v. Greece)).

“This particular vessel in distress was approached by a Coast Guard vessel, an unsuitable vessel, i.e., a vessel for surveillance and not a vessel that could provide basic rescue services. This was a vessel without adequate life-jackets, without adequate life-saving equipment, which, moreover, was not sufficiently activated during the sinking of the vessel. The fact that this mechanism, obligatory in such cases, was not activated, the fact that this operation was treated as a border surveillance operation (following from the result) and not as a rescue operation, unfortunately had this conclusion.”

“The Court could not investigate, without any doubt, whether this was a case of pushback – and it failed to establish this version precisely because of the deficiencies and the significant problems related to the investigation of the incident following the shipwreck. This was the reason why our country was condemned, in addition to the substantive violation of the provisions of Article 2, related to the right to life and the obligation to safeguard it – but also for the absence of an independent and effective investigation of the incident. Because, while Greece does have the tools and means to conduct such an investigation and to deliver exactly these findings and results, this did not take place.”

Chrisa Wilkens: One of the crucial elements in the Farmakonisi case was the use of inadequate interpretation by the authorities in taking the testimonies. On the contrary, the UNHCR played an important role, as it sent a team to Leros to talk to the survivors. With the help of two interpreters who did speak the language of the survivors, they recorded their testimonies. George Tsarbopoulos, a consultant on human rights and peaceful coexistence, who was at the time head of the UNHCR Office in Greece, underlines:

“I think that the most important element was the direct presence of a UNHCR team on the ground and its discussion with the people. That is, the contact with the rescued people, during which the first testimonies with interpretation in their language, Farsi and Arabic, were given without any pressure from the authorities, without any fear, without any annoyance (…) based on what the people said themselves, there had been an attempt to tow the vessel towards the Turkish coast, which the Coast Guard disputed. The mooring in order to tow it, either towards the Turkish coast or towards the Greek coast to be rescued, (according to the Coast Guard), was performed in a way that caused its capsizing. And this happened because, based to what they say, the coast guard vessel that was towing it was moving at high speed. The tow was not disputed in any case. The question is whether it was in the context of a rescue operation or a pushback operation. However, the whole operation as it was carried out was certainly at least unfortunate, that is undeniable from the result: the vessel capsized. (…) Thus, we, as UNHCR, took at that moment all this information that the rescuers themselves gave with their testimonies, and brought it as questions to the authorities. That happened on the same day that the testimonies of the 21st were taken on Leros. On the same day in the afternoon, UNHCR issued a press release posing questions and calling on the Greek authorities to take a position on what had happened.”

Eirini Gaitanou: The testimonies of the survivors were taken from the UNHCR team before their testimonies at the port authority of Leros, which in fact did not have interpreters who spoke the language of the survivors. These testimonies provided a solid basis on which the Greek authorities were called upon to act. However, in the course of the investigation, UNHCR was not invited to testify.

Archival Material: “The people you see in your footage right now are the people who suffered this tragic incident on this tragic night in Farmakonisi (‘solidarity is people’s weapon’…) At this moment, accompanied by the UNHCR, they are getting off the boat, as you can see among them there is a woman with a baby in her arms…”

Newsbomb.gr on January 23, 2014: “The migrants rescued in Farmakonisi are in now Piraeus”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSDCRaY4oew&ab_channel=newsbomb.gr

Eirini Gaitanou: Another crucial element was the support the survivors received, from the first moment they arrived in Piraeus two days after the shipwreck, and their capacity to stay in Greece for a long period of time, properly supported by organisations, collectives and institutions, both psychologically, legally and materially.

Archival Material: “This man is probably describing what happened over there that night (translation: ‘they were trying to get on the coast guard’s vessel, and he was hitting them with the door to get them back in the water. A one-year-old kid was screaming for help mommy daddy…’”

Newsbomb.gr on January 23, 2014: “The migrants rescued in Farmakonisi are in now Piraeus”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSDCRaY4oew&ab_channel=newsbomb.gr

Chrisa Wilkens: The Naval Court of Piraeus may have finally archived the case, but the basis for further legal action had already been established. George Tsarbopoulos notes:

“Apart from the UNHCR team, there were solidarity groups, there were non-governmental organisations, there were volunteer groups, there were collectives that throughout the whole period that followed (that is, for a really long time), offered to these people, to the survivors, psychological support. This was the first, because this was the first thing they needed, even in order to find the missing persons and recover the bodies of their dead relatives: material support, including even providing them with a place to stay. And of course, legal support which was very, very important for them in order to stay in Greece, to avoid deportation. This made it possible for them to be able to stay for a long time, to give press conferences, to repeat what they had said from the first moment to the UNHCR, to repeat it to the media, even to be present when the prosecutor of the Naval Court called them. Regardless of the outcome. However, they did give their testimonies, they repeated their testimonies and even corrected some misinterpretations that had been made since some of them had given second testimonies after those first ones, also to the Coast Guard on Leros. But there, the interpreter was Pakistani and many of the things that were said were misinterpreted.”

Eirini Gaitanou: It is particularly significant that, although the Greek authorities were aware of the deficiencies in the interpretation when taking the statements of the survivors before the Port Authorities, the competent prosecutors relied on them. This is one of the reasons why Greece was condemned by the European Court.

The shipwreck in Farmakonisi has been a major issue in the media in Greece and abroad.

“The case held a high profile and aired a lot in the media. That was probably one of the reasons why it was not forgotten, whatever the outcome of that first judicial, or more likely prosecutorial investigation. The issue was discussed a lot. That is, many people talked about Farmakonisi and the thing hurt.”

Chrisa Wilkens: The Prosecutor of the Piraeus Naval Court summarily dismissed the allegations of an attempted pushback, claiming that this “is not a practice that is being followed”. However, three months before this incident, the then Shipping Minister Miltiades0 Varvitsiotis stated on Antonis Sroiter’s TV show “Autopsy”:

Archival Material: Miltiades Varvitsiotis, then Minister of Shipping: “The first thing we do is, we say to the Turkish authorities ‘come and get ’em’”. Antonis Sroiter, journalist: “If they haven’t gone through the…” B: “If they haven’t crossed the border or anyway in a way to put them back on the Turkish side.” S: “Yes, this putting them back has caused a lot of discussion and it has also caused a report by Amnesty International that says that the Greek authorities, the coast guard, on many occasions, forcibly tow boats and actually throw people on the Turkish coast. Is this true?” B: “Look, these people don’t come from Mytilene and we send them back to Turkey, they come from Turkey and our role is to protect our borders as well.” S: “Thus, we are really towing boats.” B: “We are not towing, we are preventing. Only the presence of this vessel and all the forces we have can make the boat itself turn back by itself.”

Autopsy programme, Alpha TV/Lesvosnews.net on 20 October 2014, interview of Antonis Sroiter with Miltiades Varvitsiotis, then Minister of Shipping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fElr2nmpFuM&ab_channel=netLesvosnews

Chrisa Wilkens: A few days after the shipwreck, Mr. Varvitsiotis hurried to state that this was not an illegal pushback operation. George Tsarbopoulos comments on the reactions of the Greek authorities before the investigation was completed:

“Another element, a really important one, is that the authorities’ own reactions, I would say from then on, were spasmodic. That is, on the one hand they tried to question the credibility of the witnesses, and even before the beginning of the preliminary investigation process, there were some public statements by political figures, by the Minister of Shipping at the time – which is something you should avoid, you should let the preliminary investigation proceed and see what is going on. Right? You don’t try to prejudge that nothing happened, that this is what happened and that what others are saying is a lie or in any case is wrong, it’s a product of confusion. And of course, they even went so far as to question the intentions of even the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, saying, let’s say, that Mr. Muižnieks and various others want to incite political issues in Greece.”

Eirini Gaitanou: The German human rights foundation PRO ASYL has been involved from the beginning of the tragic event, by covering exclusively the costs of legal and humanitarian aid. Karl Kopp, director of the PRO ASYL Foundation, underlines:

“The judgment of the Strasbourg Human Rights Court is justice served behindhand but also a satisfaction, also behindhand. It broke our hearts when the relatives said: ‘Finally, finally, finally justice! At last, they believe us, that we are not to blame, the others are.’ In this case, it’s the Coast Guard. This is a major achievement, but it took too long. But this was the right way. It was a successful way. A certain justice was served, something that rarely happens in Europe. People get injured, killed in illegal pushbacks, die because they are not given help or because of mistreatment during such operations and nothing happens. There is a culture of impunity and Farmakonisi was a nod to what it means to be really persistent and fight for justice.”

Chrisa Wilkens: The European Court has condemned Greece for violations of the provisions of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the right to life and the obligation to safeguard it, as well as for violations of Article 3 of the Convention, for degrading treatment of survivors. It is particularly significant that the Court condemned Greece for the loss of life of 11 refugees, eight children and three women, due to specific omissions and delays by the Greek authorities in conducting and organising their rescue, but also for the absence of an independent and effective investigation into the incident. It awarded a total of €330,000 in damages to the survivors, who had been subjected to the humiliating body-search process, with their complete stripping immediately after their rescue.

Eirini Gaitanou: Refugee Safi Ehsanullah is a survivor of the deadly shipwreck, in which he lost his 4 children and his wife. Today he lives in Norway and tries to cope with the pain and trauma left behind by the loss of his loved ones. He tells us regarding compensation:

“This money has no value at all. This money will not bring back my wife and children. But I am happy and I have accepted it since in Europe they argued that they are to blame for the death of those who died and that they should pay for it.”

Eirini Gaitanou: The Farmakonisi case highlights the need to support similar cases over time. This was also crucial for the vindication of another surviving Syrian refugee, who was originally sentenced by the Court of First Instance for the deaths in the Farmakonisi shipwreck to 145 years and 3 months in prison and a fine of €570,500. The young Syrian had repeatedly denied driving the boat and being responsible for the deaths, claiming that he himself was a refugee. However, his claim had been rejected by the Court of First Instance. In 2017, three years after the shipwreck, the five-member Criminal Appeals Court of Dodecanese acquitted him. According to the rationale of the ruling, deaths were caused after the intervention of the port authorities and during the towing of the vessel in question by the port authorities and none of the passengers could have done anything to prevent this outcome. After this decision the young Syrian was released from prison (see “Syrian acquitted for the deaths in the 2014 Farmakonisi shipwreck”).

Chrisa Wilkens: Why is the Farmakonisi case and its judicial development important for the Greek society? Are rights violations only of concern to refugees? Marianna Tzeferakou comments:

“They are about the rule of law and our democracy. The protection of life should be fundamental and the most important in a democracy, as should the respect of human dignity. The case in Farmakonisi showed firstly that Greece does not have an effective justice system, that people could not find justice in Greece and this is very important for a democracy. And the second thing it showed is that there were serious violations in relation to the protection of life at sea. And the protection of all people, either foreigners or Greeks, either undocumented or documented, either newly arrived refugees or migrants, should be the primary concern of the authorities in a democracy.”

Eirini Gaitanou: The institutionalised policies and systematic practices of deterrence followed at EU’s external borders, which characterise European and Greek asylum and migration policies, violate fundamental rights and ultimately lead people to death. The only solution is for there to be safe and legal pathways for refugees and migrants to access the territory of the European Union to seek asylum. Eleni Spathana notes:

“Policies of deterrence, which precisely turn Europe’s external borders, including the maritime borders, into military control zones, where deterrence takes precedence over rescue. Unfortunately, the Pylos shipwreck, the Pharmakonisi shipwreck, are side effects of these policies, of the absence of safe routes for people in need of protection, but also for people who precisely wish to find themselves in a better condition for their lives, since this is a human right. And of course, they are consequent side effects of the choices that are currently being proposed instead of others, such as rescue, that would be necessary in order for us to be able to defend a Europe that will have – beyond legal civilisation – its humane dimension.”

Chrisa Wilkens: Kostis Tsitselikis, Professor, Dean of the School of Economics and Regional Studies at the University of Macedonia and former president of the Hellenic League for Human Rights, in a press conference held in July 2022 immediately after the announcement of the decision on Farmakonisi, underlined the criminal responsibilities to be attributed for the shipwreck:

“The case is being reopened, this case is being reopened so this is not the end of the road, it’s just the middle of the road, where the ball goes back to the Greek prosecutor who has to reopen the case.”

Eirini Gaitanou: In addition to the vindication by the European Court of Human Rights, Safi Ehsanullah wishes to be vindicated by the Greek justice system as well. He is willing to do anything in order for the case to be reopened in Greece and those responsible be punished.

“We will support the process if necessary to take those guilty to justice and we will be grateful and proud of that.”

Chrisa Wilkens: To date, the Greek judiciary has not taken any initiative to bring the case back before it.

Thank you for listening to us. In the description of the episode, you can find relevant links to more information from the website of Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).

Eirini Gaitanou: The radio documentary of Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) is available in Greek on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and on our website. Tune in with us for the next episode of the series “Border Policies and Rights Violations”.