BREAKING
Greece condemned today by the European Court of Human Rights for breaching Article 2 ECHR in fatal Coast Guard shooting of a refugee (Pserimos, Alkhatib and others v. Greece)
European Court of Human Rights condemned Greece today, Tuesday 16/1/2024, for breaching right to life, on account of the lethal shooting of a passenger by thirteen Coast Guard shots on the engine of a boat carrying refugees near the island of Pserimos in 2014, in the course of a sea border protection operation, aimed at immobilising the boat and the arrest of the driver.
The Court found that the Greek authorities had not established clear rules on (potentially lethal) use of firearms in Coast Guard operations, with coast guards invoking unpublished, outdated and inadequate 1992 “rules of engagement” on firing shots against the boat. It added that this specific Coast Guard operation had not been sufficiently planned and prepared, and that the “extremely dangerous” firing of thirteen (13) shots on the engine of the boat amounts to disproportionate use of force and a risk to the life of the passengers that should have been foreseen by the coast guards.
The condemnation also relates to the ineffective investigation into the incident on the part of the Greek authorities. The case had been archived in Greece by the Naval Court Prosecutor and the Reviewing Court Prosecutor. During the criminal proceedings, the two refugees wounded for the shots were never called to testify. The witness statements taken in the preliminary interrogations appear to be identical and tailored to the statements of the coast guards. Yet, the Naval Court Prosecutor did not request a new testimony from the witnesses. It also failed to thoroughly examine significant pieces of evidence including the victim’s medico-legal report and deficiencies of the ballistic report, and came to the same conclusion as the Sworn Administrative Inquiry (EDE) and the Coast Guard’s version of the incident.
The case, represented by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and PROASYL, demonstrates yet again well-documented, systemic deficiencies in the planning and implementation of Coast Guard operations and in the investigation of human rights violations at sea.
Find ECHR ruling here.
