(21 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++PLEASE NOTE STORYLINE UPDATED WITH LATEST INFORMATION AT 0956GMT++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kalamata, Greece – 21 May 2024
1. Various of riot police clashing with protesters
2. Man being detained
3. Various of injured man
4. Protester being helped after clashes
5. Sign on building reading (Greek) "Kalamata courthouse"
6. Police with shields outside courthouse
7. Various of banner showing photo of the fishing trawler that last year carried migrants to Greece before sinking, protesters
8. Police van carrying defendants pulling into courthouse
9. Various of police outside courthouse
STORYLINE:
A Greek judge on Tuesday dismissed charges against nine Egyptian men accused of causing a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants last year after a prosecutor told the court Greece lacked jurisdiction.
Shortly after the trial opened in Kalamata, the prosecutor recommended that the charges be dismissed, saying that Greek jurisdiction could not be established because the overcrowded trawler sank outside Greek territorial waters.
Ahead of the start of the trial, police in riot gear and members of a small group of protesters had clashed outside the courthouse in the southern city.
The protesters and human rights groups argued that the men’s right to a fair trial was being compromised as they faced judgment before an investigation is concluded into claims the Greek coast guard may have botched a rescue attempt.
There were no reports of serious injuries in the scuffles outside the courthouse in Kalamata but at least two people were detained.
The defendants had faced up to life in prison if convicted on multiple charges over the sinking of the "Adriana" on June 14 last year, a tragedy that sent shockwaves through the European Union’s border protection and asylum operations.
More than 500 people are believed to have gone down with the vessel, which had been traveling from Libya to Italy.
104 people were rescued – mostly migrants from Syria, Pakistan and Egypt – and 82 bodies were recovered.
AP Video by Petros Giannakouris, Derek Gatopoulos
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