European rights chief presses Greece on deadly 2023 migrant shipwreck as questions remain

ATHENS, Greece — A top European human rights official urged Greek authorities Tuesday to address claims of negligence in a 2023 boat disaster that killed hundreds of migrants off the coast of southern Greece.

Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, cited recent findings by Greece’s Ombudsman that maintained Greek coast guard officers failed to prevent one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest migrant shipwrecks.

Hundreds of migrants died when the Adriana, an overcrowded fishing trawler, sank in international waters off Pylos in southern Greece in June 2023. Survivors claim the Greek coast guard failed to respond to initial distress calls before the vessel capsized – an assertion strongly disputed by the government.

Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis found “clear indications” that senior coast guard officials disregarded imminent danger to the migrants.

“The Commissioner, who liaises closely with the Ombudsman, notes his important findings and encourages the authorities to take resolute action to ensure appropriate criminal and disciplinary accountability,” O’Flaherty’s office said in a report Tuesday.

A copy of the report was provided to The Associated Press.

During his visit to Greece last week, O’Flaherty met with five government ministers and Cabinet officials as well as shipwreck survivors, their lawyers and advocacy groups.

An estimated 500-750 people were aboard the Adriana when it sank while traveling from Libya to Italy. Only 104 people survived, while 82 bodies were recovered. The rest were trapped inside the sinking trawler.

The government last week reaffirmed its full confidence in the coast guard’s efforts to protect Greece’s maritime borders and rescue operations at sea. It argued that the Ombudsman’s report had unfairly accepted allegations made by survivors “without any reliable documentation.”

A court in southern Greece last year dismissed a case against nine Egyptian shipwreck survivors accused of causing the sinking, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction because the incident occurred in international waters.