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| 'You're dead, don't ask: Greek authorities' stance raised after boat disaster |
The BBC has uncovered new evidence that casts doubt on the Greek coastguard's role in the sinking of the migrant boat in Greece.
It should be noted that 82 people, including Pakistanis, were killed in this incident last month, while hundreds went missing. According to the United Nations, 500 people have lost their lives.
Two survivors of the incident have described how the Greek coast guard pressured them to identify the nine Egyptians on board as human smugglers.
A new video of the boat sinking also challenges the Coast Guard's position. This video was taken while the boat was traveling in the right direction.
BBC Verify has confirmed that the footage was taken when the Greek coastguard said it did not need help.
We have also confirmed that the large boat in the background is an oil tanker called 'Faithful Warrior' which was called to assist the migrant boat.
The position of the Greek coastguard was questioned in an earlier report by BBC Verify, but we have now seen court documents including statements made by survivors to the coastguard and before a judge in court. There is a serious contradiction in the statements.
An interpreter has also come forward to tell the story of a human-trafficking incident last year when another group was rescued by the Greek coast guard. He has described how eyewitnesses were pressured by the Coast Guard and the court case ended before it even reached trial.
The revelations raise new questions about the conduct of Greek authorities in such accidents. The Greek Coast Guard and the government did not respond to our request for an interview or comment.
'Survivors silenced'
On June 14, nine Egyptian nationals were detained and charged with human trafficking and manslaughter after the boat accident.
However, two survivors have said that Greek authorities intimidated and silenced the migrants. According to him, the Greek Coast Guard may be responsible for the accident.
Last month, there were allegations that Greek authorities tried to pull the boat with a rope, causing it to sink.
The people we spoke to were in Athens. We are calling them by the borrowed names of Ahmad and Musab to protect their identities.
Musab said that they tied a rope from the left side. The people on the boat shifted to the right to maintain balance.
The Greek boat went fast and our boat overturned. They kept pulling our boat for quite a distance.
The two men said that they remained in the seawater for two hours after which they were pulled out by the Coast Guard.
When I asked him how he knew the length of time he spent in the water, Musab said that his watch was working.
They say that after reaching the shore when the Greek authorities started talking about the accident, the coast guard told the survivors to keep quiet.
"When the people responded that the Coast Guard was responsible for the accident, the interrogating officer told the interpreter to tell the people to stop talking," Ahmed said.
Ahmad says the survivors were told to be thankful they didn't die.
"They shouted, 'You're safe from death, stop talking about the incident and don't ask questions,'" he says.
According to both of them, people were afraid that they could be charged like Egyptian citizens.
He said that he had paid four and a half thousand US dollars to board the boat. Ahmed's younger brother was also with him, who is still missing.
Court cases and conflicting statements
In addition to the statements of survivors, we have seen documents that question the method of gathering evidence to be presented in court.
None of the five men's initial statements mentioned that the Coast Guard tied a rope to the boat, but when they appeared before a judge a few days later, all made clear that there had been an unsuccessful attempt to tow the boat.
"A Coast Guard vessel came to help and suddenly the boat capsized and we were in the water," an initial statement said. Then they rescued us with the help of small boats.
The same witness later told a judge that "the Greek boat tied a rope in front of our boat and started to pull it, but then the rope broke." The second time they tied the rope, at first we thought we were being pulled, but then our boat capsized. The Greek ship picked up speed and we started shouting in English.
BBC Verify has not been able to speak to these witnesses and we cannot say why their statements changed.
The Coast Guard initially denied using a rope but later changed its statement and admitted that a rope was used once, but said the purpose of the rope was to assess the situation while on board the boat. He said that it was two hours before the boat sank.
Greek authorities say the Egyptians arrested were part of a human-trafficking ring and were identified by others on the boat. If convicted, the Egyptians could be sentenced to life in prison.
A few survivors have alleged that theyThe nine suspects abused the people on the boat while some say they were trying to help, but Ahmed and Musab told us that the Greek Coast Guard had urged all survivors to say These nine Egyptian citizens were responsible for human trafficking.
Musab says he was falsely accused by Greek authorities to cover up his crime.
The deputy prosecutor of Greece's Supreme Criminal Court is investigating the case but calls for an international and independent investigation by other institutions and individuals, including the United Nations, have so far been ignored. The European Commission has expressed confidence in Greece's investigation.
But Ahmed and Musab are not the only ones expressing concerns about the Greek coast guard.
Translator's statement: 'They don't want to reach the truth'
When nine Egyptian nationals were arrested within hours of the boat accident, it was hailed as an example of the excellent investigative skills of the Greek authorities, but it was a wake-up call for Farzin's husband. They felt that history was repeating itself.
He says he saw Greek authorities charge two innocent Iranian citizens with human trafficking last year when a boatload of migrants from Turkey was rescued.
Farzeen knows Farsi but is a British citizen and has lived in Kalamata for 20 years. At the time of last year's incident, he worked as an interpreter during a Coast Guard investigation.
He said that 28 people in the boat were from Afghanistan and four from Iran who said that they left Turkey and then wandered in the sea for eight days after which they were rescued.
Farzeen was told that in the meantime the Coast Guard reached the boat and then left. The Afghan migrants told them that two men who spoke Arabic had abandoned the boat when the boat's engine broke down, after which the remaining men took turns bringing the boat to safety, including those two. Iranians were also included who were accused, but they both boarded this boat by paying money like others.
Farzeen said the Iranians told him they had never seen the sea before. "We don't know anything about boats, we can't even swim," he said.
Farzeen says that a man named Saeed was rescued along with his son.
"I asked him why he brought his six-year-old child with him, and he replied that the smugglers said it would be a two-hour journey."
Farzeen gave these statements to the Coast Guard in person, but he says that when he saw the written translation, the statements of the Afghan nationals had changed. They fear that the Afghan nationals changed their story under pressure from the Greek authorities.
He says that the Iranian citizens told him that some Afghan passengers were pressured by the Coast Guard to name them as accused. They were threatened with jail and being returned to the Taliban.
This case did not proceed. Farzeen says he did not assist the Coast Guard after that. They say that when Saeed and his son were released, not even their £1,500 was returned to them.
"I thought, 'I don't want to do it again because it doesn't want to get to the truth,'" Farzeen says. They were trying to arrest two people and accuse them of being human traffickers.
We have raised these allegations with the Greek authorities but have not received a response from them. We also requested an interview with the Greek minister concerned, which was denied.
Allegations of past human rights violations
Kalamata lawyer Krisyanthi Kavani says she has seen other criminal cases filed against alleged human traffickers which is troubling.
He said that he has been a part of 10 such cases.
"I am concerned with the interpretation and the way the evidence was gathered and the ability to challenge that evidence later. Because of these three points, I think there is no justice.
Trials for those facing human trafficking charges in Greece last an average of 37 minutes and prison sentences average 46 years, a new study has found.
The research, carried out by The Grabs European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament, examined 81 cases against 95 people facing human trafficking charges from February 2020 to March 2023.
The research claimed that the verdict was often based on the testimony of a policeman or coast guard officer, and in most cases, these officers did not appear in court to be cross-examined on their testimony.
Ahmad says the survivors want authorities to recover the boat and those who drowned with it, but have been told it will be difficult because the water is so deep.
"There were hundreds of us, it's not just one ship, it's our friends and family," he said, comparing it to the resources and money spent on the search for the Titan-like submarine.