ATHENS — An independent investigation has recommended disciplinary charges against eight coastguard officers for alleged dereliction of duty over a shipwreck in the Mediterranean that killed hundreds of migrants.
Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis set up an independent investigation into the June 2023 shipwreck off Greece, after the coastguard explicitly refused to conduct an internal disciplinary investigation despite pressure from Frontex, the EU’s coastguard agency.
Eighty-two bodies were recovered following the shipwreck, but United Nations refugee and migration agencies said as many as 650 people may have perished in the incident off the coast of Pylos as they attempted to enter Europe by sea from Libya.
Pottakis’ 158-page report referred to “a series of serious and reprehensible omissions in the search and rescue duties on the part of senior officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard.” It also added that were “clear indications of culpability” for eight senior officers of the coast guard under criminal law for their handling of the deadly incident.
Coast guard officers were called to testify as suspects, including the commander, as POLITICO reported. The ombudsman said “crucial evidence” was withheld from its investigation, particularly in relation to the allegations that the coast guard towed the stricken fishing vessel.
“The actions and omissions of the implicated officers during the handling of the incident … constitute the offences of deadly exposure to danger, as well as exposure to endangering the life, health and physical integrity of those on board the Adriana fishing vessel,” the ombudsman’s office said.
The report has been submitted to the shipping minister so disciplinary measures can be taken, and to prosecutors at the Piraeus Maritime Court.
The Coast Guard declined to comment.
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