OP-ED: One question on the deadly Greek Coast Guard operation in Chios

By Minos Mouzourakis

Painful questions have gripped Greece since the night of 3 February, when 15 people lost their lives and another 24 suffered severe injuries after a Greek Coast Guard vessel collided with a boat carrying refugees off the coast of the island of Chios. The simplest is the most pressing: What do we do now?

One: Help survivors recover safely and humanely. On Chios, some remain hospitalised in critical condition and others have already been referred to registration.  Several were transferred to Athens unregistered, undocumented and vulnerable to arbitrary arrest or even prison under recent criminal laws punishing “illegal stay”. People recovering in hospitals have been denied visits and access even to their lawyers, who were asked to provide written authorisations in order to meet their clients.

Two: Treat victims and their loved ones with dignity and respect. Ensure relatives are informed of developments that concern them in ongoing identification procedures.

Three: Safeguard and deliver justice. The incident must be investigated by prosecution services independent from the involved parties. Evidence must be promptly protected and thoroughly assessed, from testimonies of survivors to inspection of vessels and audiovisual footage from recording devices.

Four: Contest the policy that enabled this, at home and beyond. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has condemned Greece four times in the last three years for Coast Guard operations that showed contempt for human lives at sea and for the deaths of refugees that were never properly investigated. Breaches of the right to life range from failure to perform search and rescue (see Safi v. Greece or F.M. v. Greece) to unlawful shootings of refugees at sea (see Alkhatib v. Greece or Almukhlas & Al-Maliki v. Greece). Less than three years ago, the Pylos shipwreck claimed over 600 lives.

The absence of accountability for deaths at sea is an inextricable product of the state – and EU – fixation on preventing refugees from reaching European soil at all costs. For Greece, this takes the form of a “systematic practice of push backs” (in the words of A.R.E. v. Greece and G.R.J. v. Greece not the author) and an ever-growing pile of shelved investigations in prosecution services. Not a single case has led to criminal prosecution, let alone conviction of perpetrators. Not a single internal Coast Guard investigation has led to disciplinary proceedings. For the European Commission, it manifests as refusal to take legal action despite an abundance of evidence, and in unwavering confidence that Greek investigations will someday deliver.

Minos Mouzourakis is a Greek attorney-at-law registered with the Athens Bar Association and works as Legal & Advocacy Officer at ECRE member organisation Refugee Support Aegean (RSA).

RSA is providing free legal assistance and representation to survivors and relatives of victims of the Chios incident. RSA lawyers have represented the cases of Safi v. Greece, Alkhatib v. Greece, Almukhlas & Al-Maliki v. Greece and F.M. v. Greece before the ECtHR and is representing survivors of the Pylos shipwreck before the Greek authorities.