Overview
- The Court of Appeal of Lesvos cleared all defendants of smuggling, criminal organization and money laundering charges that carried potential 20-year sentences.
- Presiding judge Vassilis Papathanassiou said the volunteers acted to provide humanitarian aid rather than to commit crimes.
- The acquitted group included Seán Binder and Sarah Mardini, whose arrests in 2018 led to a years-long ordeal that included extended pretrial detention for some.
- Prosecutor Dimitris Smyrnis recommended acquittal, stating that no independent basis established the defendants’ criminal liability.
- Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch welcomed the verdict, urging Greece and the EU to prevent the criminalisation of rescue work and warning that past prosecutions have curtailed Aegean operations as people continue to drown.