Egyptians accused of Pylos shipwreck deny smuggling charges, blame Greece
Al Jazeera
Months after the tragic disaster that killed hundreds at sea, nine accused men languishing in prison insist they are innocent.
Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities.
Athens, Greece – Saeed* cannot understand why he is in the Avlona prison, a detention centre northeast of the Greek capital Athens.
“Whoever asks me why you are in prison, I answer that I don’t know,” said the 21-year-old Egyptian. “We’re children, we’re terrified. We are told that we will be sentenced to 400 or 1,000 years in prison. Every time they say that, we die.”
He is among nine Egyptians in pre-trial detention and charged with criminal responsibility for a shipwreck off the town of Pylos last year, which led to the deaths of hundreds of people trying to reach Europe.
The group is being charged under Greek law with forming a criminal organisation, facilitating illegal entry and causing a shipwreck.
