Justice for the crime in Pylos
Co-production: Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) and news247.gr
The Pylos shipwreck was the deadliest incident in the Greek search and rescue zone and one of the deadliest in the Mediterranean. A shocking, painful event that was not, however, inevitable. One year on, available evidence and a breadth of testimonies point to a common denominator: the responsibility of the Greek authorities for all they failed to do, and for all they did. It is now certain that the Greek Coast Guard knew for 15 hours that the overcrowded trawler carrying hundreds of people was in distress and was asking for help, yet it refrained from launching a rescue operation as required by international and Greek law. Survivors’ testimonies also report that the Coast Guard attempted to tow the Adriana, leading to its sinking. The Greek State, painfully dedicated to its policy of deterrence and push backs, cast the Pylos shipwreck into silence and oblivion.
In September 2023, the first 40 – now 53 – survivors lodged a complaint before the Piraeus Naval Court against any responsible Greek Coast Guard member. The criminal investigation is at the stage of preliminary examination at the moment. Several witnesses-survivors have testified before the Prosecutor. Under these proceedings, mobile phones of members of the Coast Guard have been confiscated and are to be searched. Serious concerns arise, however, on the identification, safeguarding and use of all possible elements and proof related to the shipwreck since the Coast Guard has yet to release the replies and evidence anticipated. Questions also persist on the use as evidence of survivors’ mobile phones “found” in a storage room on Kythira island after their confiscation by the crew of Coast Guard vessel no. 920.
One year on, survivors have not received the necessary care and protection. Families of the deceased and missing mourn their loved ones without support. The demand for justice lingers, unmet. For those lost, for those surviving at the cost of severe trauma, for the rule of law itself, attribution of criminal responsibility for the shipwreck was and remains a pressing case at the heart of democracy and of human rights.
Video: Justice for the crime in Pylos
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Timeline
The initial version and update of the timeline for this issue available below has been prepared by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).
9/6/2023
The Adriana trawler departs from Tobruk on the morning of that day. About 750 refugees including young children were on board according to testimonies taken at a later stage.
13/6/2023
- 10:35 – First public reference by activist Nawal Soufi on Twitter to a boat in distress (Adriana trawler) carrying 750 people. 8 minutes later, Nawal releases its coordinates.
- 11:01 – The Italian authorities alert the Greek Coast Guard and Frontex of a boat with about 750 passengers in the Greek search and rescue (SAR) zone. According to MRCC Rome information, two children were reported dead on the boat. This is the first stage upon which a search and rescue operation should have been triggered according to international conventions.
- 11:47 – Frontex surveillance aircraft locates trawler “severely overcrowded with 600+ migrants” which “sailed at low speed” and appeared to have no rescue equipment. Frontex alerts the Greek authorities.
- 13:50 – Almost 3 hours after notification by the Italian authorities, the Greek Coast Guard mobilises its first operational asset. It sends a helicopter from Mytilene, Lesvos to locate the trawler even though aerial confirmation of the situational picture has already been carried out by Frontex and the trawler’s location is available via satellite phone.
- 15:35 – The Greek Coast Guard helicopter locates the trawler and the Greek Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) orders one of its vessels (no. 920) to sail in the direction of the boat (approximately 150 nautical miles’ distance). Helicopter photographs show refugees waving their hands and asking for help. The first operational vessel receives an order 4.5 hours after the first call. It remains unclear why the authorities chose no vessels from closer locations but selected a vessel from Souda, Crete that was not equipped for rescue and did not carry a large number of life-jackets.
- 17:53 –Alarm Phone transmits an SOS alert to the Greek authorities and to Frontex via email. Its email reads: “They are urgently asking for help”. Alarm Phone shares the boat’s coordinates. 27 minutes later, Frontex responds that it has informed the Greek authorities. The Greek authorities do not respond to the SOS alert.
- 19:35 – Frontex contacts the Greek authorities and offers again to send an aircraft to assist. The Greek authorities did not respond.
- 19:39 – Satellite imagery appears to track the moment when Lucky Sailor commercial vessel, contacted by the Greek Coast Guard, offers supplies to the trawler.
- 21:45 – The commander of Faithful Warrior, the second commercial vessel in the area that was sent to provide supplies (including fuel), reports to the authorities that the boat was “rocking dangerously due to overcrowding on all decks”. Part of the operation is captured in a video that seems to be recorded on the 920 commander’s mobile phone from the vessel’s screens.
- 23:57 – According to the commander of Greek Coast Guard vessel no 920, a few minutes later, people on board the boat untied the rope and moved west with an approximate speed of 3 knots. However, Forensis analysis based on actual coordinates from the Greek Coast Guard records demonstrates that “its average speed was really 4.95 knots”. Contrary to Greek Coast Guard statements to the effect that the boat carrying the migrants moved at their initiative, survivors have testified that the Greek Coast Guard instructed them to follow their vessel into Italian waters. No survivors’ statements confirms any other tying of a rope by the Coast Guard except the one prior to the boat’s capsizing.
- 00:18 – The Faithful Warrior is disengaged by the Greek Coast Guard and in fact departs at 00:30. From that moment on, Coast Guard vessel no. 920 is the only vessel in proximity to the trawler.
- 00:34 – Frontex contacted the Greek authorities anew to offer again an aircraft to assist. The Greek authorities did not respond this time either. A few minutes later, a third offer ensued which was not answered either.
- 01:40 – Greek Coast Guard vessel no. 920 reports that the trawler is not moving. According to the report, 920 approaches in order to assess the situation and starts preparing for potential rescue. It remains unknown to date what such a preparation for potential rescue entailed even at that moment, 26 minutes prior to the shipwreck. The Coast Guard did not send a MAYDAYRELAY at that point and vessel no. 920 did not appear to have appropriate equipment or size.
- 01:46 – Last call from the trawler to Alarm Phone: “Hello my friend. … The boat you send is…”
- 02:06 – According to the Greek Coast Guard this is the moment when the trawler capsizes and sinks within 10-15 minutes. Only then does the Coast Guard order the “Launch of wide search and rescue operation”, i.e. 15 hours and 31 minutes later, while the boat is sinking. Testimonies from most survivors contest the Coast Guard’s version and allege an attempt to tow the trawler resulting in the capsizing of the Adriana. The Coast Guard vessel did not record the incident on its cameras despite its state-of-the-art equipment and recommendations on recording of its operations.
4/7/2023: Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and lawyer Yiannis Kastanos appear before the Kalamata Court on behalf of victims and relatives of missing people from the tragic Pylos shipwreck. They request the lifting of the Adriana trawler and the retrieval of the bodies.
7/7/2023: Survivors’ mobile phones are “found” inside 920 and are handed to the Kythira Coast Guard. No findings have been announced to date, nor have the phones been returned to the survivors.
14/9/2023: Survivors lodge criminal complaint.
29/9/2023: Mobile phones of involved coast guard officers are confiscated.
9/11/2023: The Greek Ombudsman launches an independent investigation.
31/1/2024: Frontex report published. The report namely deems the Greek Coast Guard responsible for “delaying the start of a rescue operation, initiated after the boat in distress had capsized”.
28/2/2024: The European Ombudsman releases her report on the Pylos shipwreck and urges the European Commission to establish an independent inquiry committee.
21/5/2024: The 9 Egyptian survivors detained as perpetrators of the Pylos shipwreck are declared innocent by the Kalamata court. The court deemed itself non-competent and acquitted them.
Organisations and collectives Network for the Rights of Refugees and Migrants, Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), Initiative of Lawyers and Jurists for the Pylos Shipwreck, and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) provide legal support to the 53 survivors who have lodged a complaint against any responsible party before the Piraeus Naval Court, demanding attribution of criminal responsibility for the acts and omissions of the Greek authorities in relation to the Pylos shipwreck.
