The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Greek courts to drop all charges against 24 aid workers on trial for espionage, including Syrian swimmer Sarah Mardini.
“This type of trial is of great concern because it criminalizes life-saving actions,” UNHCR spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell said in Geneva, calling for “all charges against all defendants to be dropped.”
Activists gathered in front of a court on the Greek island of Lesvos on Tuesday, holding a banner reading “Saving lives is not a crime” after the trial of 24 aid workers and volunteers who face serious charges and lengthy jail terms. for their work in the Coastal Refugee Relief Response, nach.
Many of the defendants worked for the Greek NGO’s Emergency Response Center International (ERCI) between 2016 and 2018.
Several members of the ERCI team were arrested in 2018, including Mardini, the then field director of the group, Nassos Karaketsos, and its founder, Panos Moraitis. They were held for more than 100 days before being released and had to wait more than four years for trial to begin.
Source: “AP” + devex
