Syrian swimmer among activists cleared by Greek court of aiding migrant rescues

LESBOS, Greece (AP) — A Greek court on Thursday acquitted a group of rescue volunteers who aided migrants on the island of Lesbos, ending a case that drew criticism from international human rights groups.

The 24 defendants include Syrian competitive swimmer Sarah Mardini, who was arrested in 2018 and whose ordeal inspired the 2022 Netflix sporting drama “The Swimmers.”

The court ruled that volunteers with Emergency Response Centre International, a Greek-nonprofit, not guilty on charges of facilitating illegal entry and forming a criminal organization.

The prosecutor had already urged acquittal, saying the charges lacked evidence and noting that one of the defendants routinely alerted port authorities to approaching boats.

Supporters clapped and cheered the acquitted volunteers as they emerged from the court building. Many of the group, who had spent hours in court, went for a celebratory night-time swim in the island port. “We didn't do anything illegal,” Mardini said. “If helping people is a crime, then we are all guilty.” The ruling – welcomed by human rights groups – follows an earlier acquittal on related charges in separate trials. “The acquittals are a vindication for the defendants but are also bittersweet: Two dozen people were subjected to a seven-year legal ordeal on baseless charges for saving lives,” said Eva Cosse, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. Sarah Mardini fled war in Syria in 2015 with her younger sister and fellow swimmer Yusra Mardini who went on to compete the following year in the first ever refugee team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two sisters survived a dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Lesbos, and later described swimming for hours to keep an overcrowded dinghy afloat. After settling in Germany, the older sister returned to Lesbos for volunteer work and was jailed for more than three months in pre-trial detention following her arrest in 2018. Thursday's decision was announced as Greece and several other European Union governments are intensifying a crackdown on irregular migration with plans to expand deportations for people whose asylum claims are rejected. Eve Geddie, a senior official at Amnesty International, urged European governments to safeguard humanitarian assistance.

“We hope today’s decision sends a strong signal to Greece and other European countries that solidarity, compassion and defending human rights should be protected and celebrated, not punished,” she said.

—-

Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.

Rescue volunteers dive into the sea to celebrate after being acquitted of charges related to aiding migrants in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

Rescue volunteers celebrate outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, after being acquitted of charges related to aiding migrants. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

Rescue volunteers and their lawyer pose outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, after being acquitted of charges related to aiding migrants. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

Sean Binderm, one of 24 rescue volunteers, celebrates outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, after being acquitted of charges related to aiding migrants. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

Rescue volunteers and their lawyer celebrate outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, after being acquitted of charges related to aiding migrants. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday asked lawmakers to approve reforms to the oil industry that would open the doors to greater foreign investment during her first state of the union speech less than two weeks after its longtime leader was toppled by the United States.

Rodríguez, who has been under pressure by the Trump administration to fall in line with its vision for the oil-rich nation, said sales of Venezuelan oil would go to bolster crisis-stricken health services, economic development and other infrastructure projects.

She outlined a distinct vision for the future, straying from her predecessors, who have long railed against American intervention in Venezeula. “Let us not be afraid of diplomacy” with the U.S., said Rodriguez, the former vice president who must now navigate competing pressures from the Trump administration and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech, which was broadcast on a delay in Venezuela, came one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster.

On Thursday, Trump met at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

Rodríguez, who had a call with Trump earlier this week, said Wednesday evening on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)