Muhammed, one of the Pylos 9 survivors and Natasha Dailiani, one of his LCL lawyers, in Kalamata Court, 20 November 2024
PRESS RELEASE
Mytilene, 29 November 2024
A few days ago, on 20 November 2024, the Three Member Felony Court of Appeal of Kalamata rejected the request for compensation presented by the Pylos 9, the survivors of the Adriana shipwreck who were unjustly imprisoned for almost a year until their acquittal in May 2024. Despite all the requirements for such a compensation being met, the Court – following the prosecutor’s proposal – considered that the survivors were rightly kept in pre-trial detention from June 2023, until the lack of jurisdiction of the Greek courts could be investigated and established, a fact which, according to the Kalamata Court, could only be established during the hearing of May 2024.
This decision, however, disregards the fact that the judicial authorities were in reality aware from the start of the investigation that the Adriana shipwreck of 14 June 2023 took place in international waters, 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos. This fact was not only known by all but also undisputed, as evidenced by the statement issued by the Hellenic Coast Guard itself following the shipwreck, and by the appeals filed by the defense team against the illegal detention of the “Pylos 9”. As such, the lack of jurisdiction of the Greek Courts was clear from the outset of the investigation and should have justified the immediate release of the survivors. With this decision, however, the Kalamata Court refuses to recognise altogether the serious errors made by the prosecution in this case as well as the innocence of the Pylos 9, despite having decided for their acquittal in May 2024.
Following the decision, Legal Centre Lesvos’ Natasha Dailiani, one of the defense lawyers of two of the Pylos 9 survivors, stated: “It requires courage and intelligence to recognise one’s mistakes and grant redress. On the contrary, the rejection of the right to compensation of the unjustly imprisoned Pylos 9 feels like an additional punitive measure in this case, in which the survivors of the tragic shipwreck have repeatedly been exposed to unfair persecution by the Greek authorities, be it at sea or in court. The Greek justice system seems to have no fear of contradiction, if it is for the sake of supporting the state policy of systematic criminalisation of migrants.”
It is highly unlikely that anyone in the courtroom last week was convinced by the reasoning and decision of the Court. This was certainly not the case of Muhammed, one of the Pylos 9 represented by the LCL, who traveled to Kalamata for the hearing, entering as a free man the same Court that he was brought to in handcuffs last May. Following the Court’s decision he stated, “I don’t care about the money, I want an apology. I want justice to be served. Money doesn’t bring men and women back. Someone needs to apologize to the relatives of the people from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan who lost their lives. But today, what I feel is something different. I am free. ”
After this disappointing decision from the Kalamata Court, our efforts to achieve justice are now directed towards the ongoing criminal investigation in the Naval Court of Piraeus against state actors, who all evidence shows are the actual culprits, responsible for the shipwreck and the killing of over 600 people on board.