希腊一家法院撤销了对九名埃及男子的审判，他们被控制造了一艘可怕的移民船只失事，法院认为这起事件发生在国际水域，因此超出了希腊法院的管辖范围。

当南部港口城市卡拉马塔的法官做出裁决时，法院外的抗议者欢呼起来。

这一悲剧发生在2023年6月14日，当时载有来自埃及、巴基斯坦和叙利亚的750名移民的超载渔船“Adriana”号在地中海最深的水域之一倾覆。

这艘船离开利比亚前往意大利，在希腊小镇皮洛斯附近倾覆。

据信有600多人溺水身亡，其中包括被困在船舱里的100名妇女和儿童。

虽然找到了82具尸体，但联合国估计仍有大约500人失踪。

这9名嫌疑人年龄在20岁至41岁之间，他们被控偷运人口、导致沉船事故以及在一家犯罪公司工作。

如果罪名成立，他们可能面临终身监禁。

然而，法院认定他们没有犯下这些罪行，并指出事故发生在国际水域，尽管事件发生在希腊的限制救援区域内。

因此，这些人被解除了非法进入希腊的资格，也没有被认定为走私者。

审判被驳回引发了激烈的争论。

幸存者和包括***(Amnesty International)和人权观察(human rights Watch)在内的人权组织质疑希腊调查的可信度和审判的公正性。

对九名埃及人的指控是基于幸存者的证词，其中一些人说，希腊海岸警卫队强迫他们把被告误认为走私者。

六名幸存者声称，海岸警卫队的行动导致了“Adriana”号的倾覆。

希腊海岸警卫队一直否认这些指控，声称他们的船只没有尝试救援，因为“Adriana”号正逐渐驶向意大利，乘客没有立即危险。

然而，BBC之前的一项调查对这些说法提出了质疑，暗示海岸警卫队可能有不当行为。

辩护律师辩称，检方的证据在很大程度上依赖于海岸警卫队的采访。

他们声称，法庭上没有出示其余95名幸存者的相关证据。

此外，法庭文件显示，本可以提供必要视频证据的手机没有被检查，因为它们被认为是被海水永久损坏的。

辩方还抨击了调查的快速性和缺乏证据，声称被告是替罪羊。

法院的裁决受到了热烈的掌声，一些被告跪在地上，亲吻地板，以示宽慰。

希腊海军法院对海岸警卫队潜在责任的单独调查仍处于早期阶段。

人权组织认为，这项调查本应在对埃及被告提起刑事诉讼之前完成。

尽管希腊政府决心打击非法越境行为并追究贩运者的责任，但它相信正义会占上风。

在判决之后，人权观察的朱迪思·桑德兰强调了有意义的问责的重要性，包括确定希腊当局的义务，以解决地中海历史上最严重的沉船之一。

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英文原文

A Greek court dropped the trial of nine Egyptian men accused of causing a horrific migrant shipwreck, concluding that the incident occurred in international waters and, hence, beyond its jurisdiction.

Protesters outside the court cheered as justices in Kalamata, a southern port city, made their decision.

The sad tragedy occurred on June 14, 2023, when the overcrowded fishing boat Adriana, carrying up to 750 migrants from Egypt, Pakistan, and Syria, capsized in one of the Mediterranean Sea’s deepest waters.

The ship, which had left Libya heading for Italy, capsized near the Greek town of Pylos.

More than 600 people are believed to have drowned, including 100 women and children trapped in the boat’s hold.

While 82 bodies were recovered, the United Nations estimates that approximately 500 people are still missing.

The nine suspects, aged 20 to 41, were charged with human smuggling, causing the shipwreck, and working in a criminal firm.

If convicted, they might have faced lifetime imprisonment.

However, the court found them not guilty of these crimes, stating the incident’s location in international waters, even though it occurred within Greece’s restricted rescue region.

As a result, the individuals were relieved of illegal entry into Greece and not identified as smugglers.

The trial’s dismissal has sparked great debate.

Survivors and human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have questioned the credibility of the Greek investigation and the impartiality of the trial.

The accusation against the nine Egyptians was based on testimony from survivors, some of whom said the Greek coastguard had forced them to misidentify the defendants as smugglers.

Six survivors claimed that the coastguard’s actions caused the Adriana to capsize.

The Greek coastguard has continuously denied these charges, claiming that their vessel did not attempt a rescue since the Adriana was gradually heading toward Italy and the passengers were not in immediate danger.

However, a previous BBC investigation questioned these statements, implying that the coastguard may have acted inappropriately.

Defence counsel argued that the prosecution’s evidence relied heavily on coastguard interviews.

They claimed no relevant evidence from the remaining 95 survivors was produced in court.

Furthermore, court documents revealed that cell phones, which could have provided necessary video evidence, were not checked because they had been considered permanently damaged by seawater.

The defence also attacked the investigation’s quick nature and lack of proof, alleging that the accused were being scapegoated.

The court’s decision was greeted with applause, and some defendants kneeled and kissed the floor in relief.

A separate probe by the Greek Naval Court into the coastguard’s potential responsibility is still in its early stages.

Human rights groups contend that this investigation should have been completed before criminal proceedings against the Egyptian accused were instituted.

While the Greek government is determined to crack down on unlawful crossings and hold traffickers accountable, it is confident that justice will prevail.

Following the verdict, Human Rights Watch’s Judith Sunderland stressed the importance of meaningful accountability, including determining any Greek authorities’ obligations, to resolve one of the worst shipwrecks in Mediterranean history.

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