Greece’s investigations into how its coastguard responded to one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in the eastern Mediterranean have made “little meaningful progress,” two major human rights watchdogs said Thursday.
The Adriana, a fishing boat loaded with 750 people en route from Libya to Italy, went down in international waters off south-west Greece on June 14.
“The nature of ongoing judicial investigations in Greece raises concerns about the prospects for accountability,” Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said in their joint report.
According to survivors, the ship was carrying primarily Syrians, Pakistanis and Egyptians. Only 104 survived and 82 bodies were recovered.
According to several media reports, the Greek coastguard was slow to respond.
“Survivors’ testimony points to potential serious procedural shortcomings that might affect both investigations, including the confiscation of survivors’ mobile phones, some of which may contain key evidence of the events,” the report said.
“In the 15 hours between receiving the first alert that the Adriana was in their search and rescue region, and when it capsized, Greek authorities failed to mobilize appropriate resources for a rescue. The authorities were clearly aware of indicators of distress.”
The two organisations questioned 21 survivors, victims’ relatives, and Greek authorities.
Greece is routinely accused by NGOs and the press of pushing migrants out of its territorial waters, which it denies.