Facing 1,020 Years in Prison: ‘All I Did Was Steer The Boat’
The case of Abdelhafiz O. from Egypt
Crete, Greece. On December 28, 2023, Abdelhafiz O., a father of two from Egypt, set sail from Tobrouk, Libya, along with 69 other people. Despite passengers testifying that Abdelhafiz was merely steering the boat and was just another passenger forced to take the same dangerous journey, Greek authorities have charged him with human smuggling. He now faces accusations of being responsible for the perilous trip, with the possibility of a sentence of 1,020 years in prison.
After their boat ran aground near the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, due to bad weather conditions, the Hellenic Coast Guard rescued all 70 passengers and brought them to the port authority office in Chania. Authorities immediately began interrogating the passengers in an attempt to ‘identify’ the smuggler—a routine practice by law enforcement since 2015. However, in practice, this often unfolds similarly as to the situation of Abdelhafiz O.: eight passengers claimed that he and another individual had taken over steering the boat during the journey. They clearly testified, however, that they had not paid Abdelhafiz or the other individual for the crossing, but had instead paid others - strangers who remained in Libya - between 5,000 and 8,000 Euros for the crossing.
Despite these testimonies, which indicated that Abdelhafiz O. and the other individual were simply fellow people on the move who had been forced to take over navigation under difficult circumstances, both men were arrested and charged with human smuggling.
Under Greek law (Artikel 25 Law 5038/2023; previously article 30 Law 4251/2014), Abdelhafiz O. and the other accused face charges for the "unauthorized transportation of 68 third-country nationals into Greek territory" under aggravating circumstances—specifically, acting for profit and endangering the lives of the passengers. The charges are based on claims that they steered the boat in exchange for a reduced fare, as well as the boat's lack of rescue supplies, the poor weather conditions, and the risk of sinking.
This scenario is all too common in similar trials. Steering the boat in return for a reduced fare is regularly interpreted by authorities as "acting for profit." In addition, migrants are punished for the very dangerous conditions they had to endure themselves. The overcrowded, unsafe, and unseaworthy vessels they are forced to travel in are frequently used as justification for applying the aggravating circumstances of having endangered the lives of the passengers—despite the fact that the people being smuggled usually have no control over these perilous arrangements and their own live having been endangered as well.
As a result, smuggled migrants are not only charged with smuggling simply for having taken on the role of steering—which contradicts international law meant to protect them*(1)—but are also given severe sentences as if they were ruthless, profit-driven criminals.
In effect, this practice treats migration as a severe felony. Furthermore, it punishes those targeted by the European border regime for the hardships it creates for them, placing blame on the very victims of its policies. The case of Abdelhafiz O. shows the grave consequences of a border regime which targets people on the move and seeks to divert responsibility by criminalizing so-called smugglers:
If convicted, Abdelhafiz O. and his co-defendant face harsh penalties—at least 15 years of imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 Euros for each transported person. In total, they could be sentenced to more than 1,020 years in prison (15 years x 68 passengers) and fines exceeding 3 million Euros.
Both of them have been in pre-trial detention on the island of Crete since their arrest, enduring over 10 months in prison without trial.
Together with his two sons and his wife in Egypt, who are very worried about their father and husband, we demand:
- That the charges against Abdelhafiz O. be dropped
- Freedom for all those imprisoned for “boat driving” despite the fact that there is no alternative to reach the European Union
- An end to the criminalization of migration and the incarceration of people on the move.
*(1) The UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air clearly prohibits the criminalization of migrants who have been smuggled. Moreover, the Geneva Refugee Convention states that people seeking asylum should not be criminalized for entering a country unlawfully. Both the EU and Greece are signatories to both the protocol and the convention.
More info:
- borderline-europe: Study: A legal vacuum - the systematic criminalisation of migrants for driving a boat or car to Greece
- borderline-europe: Appeal Trial Postponed: Homayoun Sabetara's Case Highlights Systemic Injustice Faced by Migrants Accused of Smuggling
- borderline-europe: Criminalization of migraiton and solidarity
- BBC Radio: Caught At The Helm
- Monitor: Schleuser-Kriminalität: Die Falschen vor Gericht?
- Deutschlandfunk: Vom Mittelmeer ins Gefängnis - Wie Geflüchtete zu Schleppern gemacht werden
