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Refugee boat off Greece: deterrence as a principle
Photo: GIORGOS MOUTAFIS / REUTERS
Nadir A. had just passed the worst hours of his life.
His son Yahya, six years old, drowned in the Aegean Sea while fleeing from Turkey to Greece.
Nadir himself had barely survived the boat accident.
The Afghan was exhausted and traumatized when he arrived on the Aegean island of Samos on Sunday.
He would have needed assistance, a psychologist, instead Greek police locked him in a cell.
You accuse the family man of exposing Yahya to unnecessary dangers.
Under Greek law, he faces at least six years in prison.
Greece seals itself off with violence against refugees
The Greek authorities are setting an example with the procedure.
Refugees have never before been charged under this law.
The process shows how the rights of those seeking protection in Europe are being further undermined.
Greece has been sealing itself off for months, sometimes with brutal violence against migrants.
SPIEGEL and other media have documented how Greek border guards illegally drag refugees back to Turkey.
In March, Greek security forces shot at people seeking protection on the border with Turkey, killing at least two people.
The Nadir A. case shows that the Greek government is determined to continue its policy of deterrence with all its might.
Nadir A., 25 years old, was born in Afghanistan and grew up as a half-orphan in Iran.
He later went to Turkey, where he married and had a son, Yahya.
But the Turkish authorities rejected his asylum application and wanted to send the family to Afghanistan.
Nadir decided to flee to Europe.
The sea was calm when Nadir crossed over to Greece with two dozen other migrants on the night from Saturday to Sunday.
Shortly before Samos, however, the boat was hit by a wave and thrown against a rock.
One of the refugees notified the Agean Boat Report, an NGO which, according to its own information, forwarded the emergency call to the Greek coast guard at 00:06.
Nevertheless, it took another hour or two before Greek border guards were on site.
Any help came too late for Yahya at this point.
His lifeless body was washed up on the coast of Samos.
Nadir was handcuffed to his son's body
Nadir was devastated.
But the Greek police didn’t care about his condition.
They took him in handcuffs to the body of his son to identify the body.
It can take months for the process to begin.
His lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, regards the actions of the authorities as a mockery.
"One could understand the charge of negligence if a father took his son out to sea for a fishing trip despite a storm, but not with refugees."
In fact, those seeking protection have almost no choice but to cross the sea by boat if they want to apply for asylum in Europe.
Prosecuting a man who lost his son on the run is not only considered by Choulis to be sheer cynicism.
Nadir was released from custody on Tuesday afternoon.
But the proceedings against him continue.
He is not allowed to leave Samos.
But at least he can now attend his son's funeral.
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