‘The real smugglers are rarely on the boat’: activists in Greece question jailing asylum seekers

‘The real smugglers are rarely on the boat’: activists in Greece question jailing asylum seekers

Hundreds of people – including children – face lengthy prison sentences under harsh Greek anti-smuggling law

Mohanad was 15 years old when he was arrested by the Greek authorities in November 2022 after arriving in Crete on a vessel that had departed from Libya. He has now been charged with smuggling 476 people and is awaiting trial later this year.

He is one of hundreds of people, including children and people travelling with their families, who have been arrested under Greece’s harsh anti-smuggling law that came into force in 2014 with jail sentences of up to 25 years.

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