Lawyers discuss efforts to free Russian sailors from Greek detention amid migration case concerns
At an international conference titled “Legal and social problems of the migration crisis. International experience,” attorneys spoke about ongoing work to secure the release of Russian sailors held in Greek prisons on charges related to transporting migrants, according to TASS.
One lawyer reported an increase in the number of cases involving Russian sailors to twenty. The sailors originated from Krasnodar, Vladivostok, Kaliningrad, and other regions of Russia. They responded to social media advertisements promising lucrative employment in Turkey and inviting them to operate vessels that would transport boats to Greece and Italy. In most cases, Greek courts of first instance convicted these seafarers for crimes connected to migrant transportation, as noted by Konstantinos Dedes, a practicing attorney.
He emphasized that the sailors’ actions could not be classified as smuggling. The law firm representing them contends that the seafarers were compelled by a criminal network operating across multiple countries.
According to the attorney, the sailors sought decent pay and to gain experience in the maritime trade, as advertised. The responsible ship owners who purportedly recruited the crews to deliver migrants to Greece remain unidentified. The group is described as a criminal network involving individuals from the former Soviet states, Turkey, and Greece, with no clear documentation tying these ship owners to the cases. The ages of the sailors ranged from twenty-two to thirty years old, and they are described as having been used by this network.
As the cases unfold, Russian sailors currently face long prison terms that could extend well beyond a decade in some instances. The discussions at the conference underscore the broader challenges in adjudicating migration-related offenses and the need for careful consideration of the individual circumstances surrounding each case.
Earlier reports indicated that Russian figures such as Viktor Bout and Roman Seleznev, who are imprisoned in the United States for separate reasons, did not receive medical treatment during their confinement. The latest developments highlight ongoing debates about access to healthcare in international detention and the treatment of foreign nationals in foreign judicial systems.