Rights activist faces criminal charges

Following a long-running investigation into the illegal trafficking of migrants into Greece, the director of the Hellenic Observatory of the Helsinki Accords, Panagiotis Dimitras, is being prosecuted by judicial authorities on the southeastern Aegean island of Kos on charges of participating in a criminal organization.

According to the indictment drawn up, Dimitras, who is well known to judicial authorities due to the hundreds of lawsuits he has filed through the years against others, participated in organized efforts to smuggle illegal migrants into Greece. He was indicted along with Tommy Olsen, the founder and director of Norwegian nongovernmental organization Aegean Boat Report.

As stated in the indictment, both are accused of the offense of participating in a criminal organization that intended to receive details of third country nationals who attempted to enter Greece illegally, in order to facilitate their illegal entry and stay in Greece, by sending the authorities their full details and their exact location in the country, so that the latter could be subject to asylum procedures.

The charges against Dimitras have been brought with the aggravating circumstance that they were committed within a professional context, since, as stated in the indictment, it was clear that the operation of the Hellenic Observatory of the Helsinki Accords was intended to be used “to commit the act repeatedly and to earn income.” 

Dimitras was summoned on Wednesday by investigating authorities to give his testimony, but due to a disagreement between the investigator and the prosecutor, the judicial council will decide in the coming days whether or not he should be temporarily detained.

In its Sunday edition last October, Greek-language Kathimerini revealed two case files formed by the Hellenic Coast Guard against Turkish human traffickers as well as the heads of two well-known NGOs from Greece and abroad. Prior to this, investigations had been conducted with the assistance of the National Intelligence Service (EYP), which revealed direct communications between traffickers from the Turkish coast and volunteers in Greece before the boats with the refugees and migrants started their journey to the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea, namely Kos and Farmakonisi. They allegedly exchanged information on the time of departure, the itinerary and the time of their arrival on the Greek islands.

Such activity falls under the provisions of Law 4251 on “facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Greek territory” and carries heavy penalties.