Over 1,600 persons seeking safety have died or gone missing in their attempt to cross the Eastern Mediterranean since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015. Several others including small children and unaccompanied children died in the unsafe and overcrowded hotspots of the Eastern Aegean islands since the beginning of the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal. The causes of death vary from lack of winterization measures to fires that broke out in their dwellings as well as violence due to lack of protection.
In all these cases, those remaining behind, the close family and other relatives face an enormous challenge, in registering their deaths, organising their funerals and seeking justice.
RSA closely monitors shipwreck incidents on both sides of the Aegean. It also assists families of those who died in the Aegean or in hotspots in their efforts to identify their lost family members, register the death of their loved ones and in seeking justice in cases where there is a possible responsibility of the Greek State.
In the past year, RSA has also co-operated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a project that documents deaths at the land and sea borders of Greece with Turkey.
Thursday, 19 June, at 11:00 AM, at the Athens Bar Association
Joint Press Release by lawyers and organisations representing the survivors of the Pylos shipwreck: PYLOS SHIPWRECK: CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR FELONIES…
Near Symi in August 2015 (case of Almukhlas and Al-Maliki v. Greece).
These figures derive from the data we are publishing today for the whole of 2024, following our own collection and analysis.
Accountability for the criminal train collision in Tempi and the Pylos shipwreck are fundamental issues of Rule of Law.
Granting of refugee status to survivors
Clear evidence of serious criminal liability among senior Coast Guard officers
The absence of any investigation into the responsibilities of the competent search and rescue bodies and the leadership of the Greek Coast Guard is deafening
Video: Rezwana shares her story
On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, we publish a transcript of the testimony given to us by Bilal*, a survivor of the Pylos shipwreck.
The video of the Press Conference on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the deadly shipwreck off Pylos
Video with testimonials, timeline. The Pylos shipwreck was one of the deadliest in the Mediterranean. The demand for Justice persists.
The press conference will be conducted entirely in Greek.
Two human stories behind 13 Coast Guard shots on a refugee boat. On the recent ECtHR ruling regarding the 2014 Pserimos incident
Τhe European Ombudsman released her conclusions on EU search and rescue as related to the Pylos shipwreck.
The Serious Incident Report of the Frontex Fundamental Rights Office on the Pylos shipwreck leaves no doubt as to the responsibility of the Greek Coast Guard
European Court of Human Rights condemned Greece today, Tuesday 16/1/2024, for breaching right to life.
In this podcast we focus on the deadly shipwreck that happened in Farmakonisi in 2014, for which the European Court of Justice condemned Greece
Οι παραβιάσεις που εντοπίστηκαν από το Δικαστήριο στην υπόθεση του Φαρμακονησίου δεν αποτελούν ένα μεμονωμένο περιστατικό.
23 Aug: 19 refugees dead in the devastating fires and escalation of racist violence in Evros, Greece
The tragic human toll currently includes 19 confirmed dead refugees on Evros and escalation of racist discourse and practices
RSA presents an overview of the tragic shipwreck of Pylos with a detailed timeline and other crucial data linked to it.
RSA will stand by the survivors and the relatives of the victims throughout all stages of the process, in order for justice to be served.
78 people dead and more than 500 missing after the shipwreck off the coast of Pylos are seeking justice
Human lives must finally be respected – no more deaths.
Athens, 11/7/2022 Moderation: Dimitris Angelidis, Journalist Giorgos Tsarbopoulos, former Greece Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees I want to…
Today’s judgment from the ECtHR comes eight years following the tragic incident. It vindicates the victims by awarding compensation from the Greek State and brings to light an issue systematically concealed in public discourse: push backs and systematic deterrence practices which put lives at risk on a daily basis in Evros and the Aegean.
Almost two months after the deadly shipwrecks in Paros, Folegandros and Antikythera, the bodies of missing refugees and migrants are still found scattered all over the Aegean. The survivors – relatives and companions of these people who were anxiously searching for clues about their fate, instead of receiving the necessary psychosocial care under decent accommodation conditions, were taken to the Pre-removal Detention Centre (PROKEKA) in Amygdaleza where they remained in administrative detention for more than a month. The recent shipwrecks have once again highlighted the huge shortcomings in the information, support and care of survivors, in the coordination for the management of shipwreck victims such as the protocol for the search and identification of the missing and dead respectively and the referral to an appropriate accommodation facility.
On 9 August, the Aegean became once more a graveyard for seven refugee children after a boat carrying around 13…
PRO-ASYL and Refugee Support Aegean wish to express once more their profound concerns over the loss of sixteen lives following the capsizing of…
On 16 March 2018, a refugee boat sank near the Greek island of Agathonisi. Sixteen persons perished including seven children and two babies and at least three are missing.
The Felony Appeal Court of Dodecanese in Rhodes decided yesterday that the young Syrian – sentenced initially to 25 years…