A Greek court on Lesbos on Thursday acquitted Syrian competitive swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini and 23 co-defendants of charges accusing them of migrant trafficking, ending a legal case that began in 2018.
The defendants had faced accusations on the island of "forming a criminal organisation" and "illegally facilitating the entry of third-country nationals into Greece." The trial concluded nearly a month after it began.
"All defendants are acquitted of the charges," Presiding Judge Vassilis Papathanassiou said, adding that the group's aim was "not to commit criminal acts but to provide humanitarian aid."
Prosecutor Dimitris Smyrnis had earlier recommended acquittal, telling the court that "no independent basis establishing the criminal liability of the defendants has been demonstrated."
Mardini, 30, who sought refuge in Germany in 2015, attended the hearing alongside her Irish-German co-defendant Sean Binder, according to AFP. The case drew international attention in part because Mardini and her sister Yusra are the subjects of the 2022 Netflix film The Swimmers. Yusra competed at the Rio Olympics as part of a Refugee Team.
In 2015 the sisters made the dangerous crossing of the Aegean Sea; during that journey they helped rescue people from drowning. The lawyers for the defendants argued their actions were humanitarian rescue efforts rather than criminal facilitation.
This is the second major legal episode involving the volunteer group. In 2023 the volunteers were acquitted in a separate case tied to their humanitarian work, which had included allegations—among them "espionage"—that did not lead to convictions. Mardini was previously arrested in 2018 and spent three months in Greek custody.
Broader Context
The trials have highlighted wider tensions in Greece over migration, search-and-rescue operations and the legal risks faced by volunteers operating near the Turkey-Greece maritime frontier. Rights groups and supporters of the activists say the acquittal is a vindication of humanitarian efforts to save lives at sea.
