ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Rights groups are seeking criminal charges against Greek coast guard members over a deadly 2023 migrant shipwreck, after the country’s ombudsman said there were indications that officers overlooked the danger of the boat sinking.
The Adriana, a massively overcrowded fishing trawler, had been heading from Libya to Italy with an estimated 500-750 people on board when it sank in international waters west of Pylos in western Greece in June 2023. Only 104 people survived, while 82 bodies were recovered. The rest went down with the trawler in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean.
An independent investigation by Greece’s ombudsman into the shipwreck concluded this week that there were “clear indications” that eight senior coast guard officers should face disciplinary action for overlooking the dangers posed by the trawler.
The coast guard, which had been notified about the boat by Italian authorities, had been shadowing the vessel for hours as it sailed in international waters but within Greece’s area of responsibility for search and rescue.
At the time, the coast guard said the Adriana's captain had insisted he did not want assistance and wanted to continue sailing to Italy. But several survivors said passengers had been calling for help repeatedly, and said that the boat capsized during an attempt by the Greek coast guard to tow it.
The ombudsman said Monday its report noted “a series of serious and reproachable omissions in the search and rescue duties by senior officers of the Hellenic Coast Guard which constitute clear indications” for establishing a case against the officers for endangering the lives of the Adriana’s passengers.
The independent body began its own investigation in November 2023 after “the direct refusal of a disciplinary investigation by the Coast Guard,” it said.
The Shipping and Island Policy Ministry, under whose jurisdiction the coast guard lies, rejected the ombudsman’s report, accusing it of “attempting to shift the conversation from the criminal smuggling networks to the members of the coast guard, who fight day and night for the protection of the country.”
It accused the report of frequently favoring versions of events that called into question the coast guard’s actions “without the slightest credible evidence.”
“At a time when irregular migration is causing global concern, the government remains steadfastly committed to a strict but fair policy of guarding the country’s borders,” the statement said.
Rights groups hailed the ombudsman’s report, and blasted the government’s reaction. The ministry’s statement “is a monument of hypocrisy but also a confession it will continue to cover up the crime,” said the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat, or KEERFA. The group organized a protest rally late Thursday outside a naval court in the Greece's main port city of Piraeus. Demonstrators, many from the Pakistani migrant community in Greece, held up a large banner displaying numerous photographs of victims of the shipwreck, along with images of their identification documents.
Lawyers representing some of the survivors filed a request with the Piraeus naval court in December seeking criminal charges to be brought against members of the search and rescue operation.
FILE - This undated handout image provided by Greece's coast guard on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, shows scores of people on a battered fishing boat that later capsized and sank off southern Greece. (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP, File)
Survivors and other members of the Pakistani community in Greece hold a banner with pictures of victims of one of the worst migrant boat tragedies during a protest by the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat, or KEERFA, outside the naval court in Piraeus, near Athens, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
ISTANBUL (AP) — The head of Turkey's main opposition party visited jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Tuesday after six nights of massive protests calling for his release.
Imamoglu, arrested on March 19 on corruption charges, is seen as the main challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule. His arrest has been widely viewed as politically motivated and sparked demonstrations, some turning violent, across the country. The government insists Turkey’s judiciary is independent and free of political influence.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Imamoglu's Republican People’s Party, or CHP, held a two-hour meeting with Imamoglu at Silivri prison, west of Istanbul. Ozel told reporters that he was “ashamed on behalf of those who govern Turkey of the atmosphere I am in and the situation that Turkey is being put through.”
He described Imamoglu and two jailed CHP district mayors he also met as “three lions inside, standing tall, with their heads held high … proud of themselves, their families, their colleagues, not afraid.”
Ozel announced the night before that Tuesday evening would be CHP's final rally outside Istanbul’s City Hall, calling for people to join in. He also said the party would appoint a member to the municipal council to act as mayor in Imamoglu's place, staving off the possibility of a state-appointed replacement.
Students across Turkey protested and occupied campuses on Tuesday after declaring a boycott of classes. In Istanbul, thousands gathered in a park before marching to Sisli district, where the elected mayor has been jailed and replaced with a government appointee.
Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have been cracking down on journalists as protests have grown.
The Media and Law Studies Association, a civil society group, said 11 journalists who were detained for covering banned protests in Istanbul were brought to the city’s Caglayan Courthouse to answer charges of violating the law on meetings and demonstrations.
The journalists were among more than 200 people prosecutors have recommended for imprisonment pending trial, including left-wing activists rounded up at their homes in raids early on Monday.
Media workers’ unions have condemned the arrests as an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth.”
The head of the CHP's Istanbul branch, Ozgur Celik, shared a letter he had received from the prosecutor’s office ordering the removal of Imamoglu's posters. He said he would not comply.
“You will see more of Mayor Ekrem on the balconies of houses, in squares, on the streets and on the walls,” Celik posted on X.
Demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, as well as smaller cities and towns across Turkey, have been largely peaceful with protesters demanding Imamoglu’s release and an end to democratic backsliding. Some turned violent, with officers deploying water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray and firing plastic pellets at protesters, some of whom have hurled stones, fireworks and other objects at riot police.
The governors of Ankara and Izmir on Tuesday extended bans on demonstrations to April 1 and March 29, respectively. The ban in Istanbul currently ends on Thursday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said early Tuesday that police had detained 43 “provocateurs” over what he said were “vile insults” hurled at Erdogan and his family at protests. Later he posted that 1,418 people had been detained since Wednesday last week, and 979 suspects were currently in custody. “No concessions will be made to those who attempt to terrorize the streets,” he wrote on X.
Ozel and Imamoglu's social media accounts posted condemnations of insults hurled at Erdogan's mother.
Imamoglu has been jailed on suspicion of running a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging — accusations he has denied. He also faces prosecution on terror-related charges and has been suspended from duty as a “temporary measure.”
Alongside Imamoglu, 47 other people have been jailed pending trial, including a key aide and two district mayors from Istanbul. A further 44 suspects in the case alleging widespread graft at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality were released under judicial control.
The U.N. Human Rights Office condemned “widespread detentions” in Turkey. “All those detained for the legitimate exercise of their rights must be released immediately and unconditionally,” spokesperson Liz Throssell said in a statement.
Although Turkey is not due for another election until 2028, there is a reasonable possibility that Erdogan will call for an early vote in order to run for another term.
Imamoglu has been confirmed as the candidate for the CHP and has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan. He was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, in a major blow to Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul alongside its predecessors for a quarter-century.
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Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
University students sit next to anti riot police officers during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Huseyin Aldemir)
Riot police fire tear gas pellets to disperse protesters in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 24, 2025, during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
People shout slogans next to anti riot police officers during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey, Monday, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
