On 21 May 2024, the trial of the Pylos 9 will begin in Kalamata, Greece. These nine survivors of the tragic deadly shipwreck—where about 650 people lost their lives—that occurred in international waters near the coast of Pylos on 14 June 2023, are today unfairly accused as “smugglers” and, therefore, as responsible for causing the shipwreck.
The Pylos 9 are being detained and brought to trial despite clear evidence that the Greek Coast Guard holds responsibility for the shipwreck after having refused to provide assistance and rescue the people in distress, and attempting to tow the vessel away into waters outside of Greek responsibility which contributed to the sinking of the vessel. However, instead of seeking accountability from the authorities, an attempt is being made to cover it up by criminalizing the nine survivors.
Once again, we are standing in front of a huge, blatant and obvious injustice, where people on the move, survivors of a shipwreck, instead of being protected and cared for, are arrested, detained and threatened with huge life sentences, while the authorities are hiding in plain sight from their responsibilities.
Once again it is blatantly obvious that all we have is each other after all.
Therefore, we stand in solidarity with the nine unjustly accused survivors, their families, and friends, shouting that the attempted cover-up will not go unnoticed.
We will all be there (whether in physical presence or from a distance), with our eyes turned to the court, demanding the dropping of the charges and the release of the nine unjustly accused survivors.
We will all be there, demanding an end to the criminalization of migration and people on the move.
We will all be there, demanding an end to the border violence regime that spreads death across the Mediterranean.
#FreePylos9
