Abdelhafiz O. sentenced to 36 Years and 8 months - all he did was steer the boat
Update on the Case of Abdelhafiz O. from Egypt – read our original statement here.
Crete, Greece. Today, Friday, February 7, 2025, the trial of Abdelhafiz O. ended in a shocking verdict: the father of two was sentenced to 36 years and 8 months in prison. This outcome disregards the testimony of passengers who confirmed that Abdelhafiz was merely steering the boat out of necessity, not as a smuggler, when life was on the edge of death.
The verdict has left his family, his wife and two sons in Egypt, heartbroken and devastated. They are struggling to comprehend how a father and fellow migrant could be treated as a criminal after surviving a perilous journey. He has already spent more than a year in pretrial detention.
Even before the trial took place, eight passengers testified that Abdelhafiz and another individual had taken over steering the overcrowded and unsafe boat only because no one else could. They emphasized that Abdelhafiz had not profited from the crossing and that they had instead paid between €5,000 and €8,000 to unknown smugglers in Libya. In today's trial, the court recognized the mitigating circumstances but still upheld the charges of human smuggling – pointing to simple fact that he had steered the boat.
While we are relieved that our lawyer averted the life sentence originally threatening him, considering that all he did was steer the boat used by him and others in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean, 36 years is anything but a cause for celebration—it remains a flagrant injustice!
This sentence is yet another grim example of how European border policies punish migrants and the survivors of dangerous journeys instead of protecting them. Abdelhafiz, like countless others, is a scapegoat for a system that forces people into life-threatening situations and then criminalizes their struggles to survive.
We stand with Abdelhafiz O. and his family and demand:
- Freedom for all those imprisoned for “boat driving” in the absence of safe alternatives.
- An end to the criminalization of migration and the persecution of people on the move.
The story of Abdelhafiz O. highlights another broader crisis: while those truly responsible for these deadly crossings—the EU and its member states—remain unpunished, innocent individuals are being held accountable. This verdict underscores the urgent need to abolish Europe’s inhumane anti-smuggling laws.
More info:
- borderline-europe: Facing 1,020 Years in Prison: ‘All I Did Was Steer The Boat’
- 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 migration and solidarity
