Greek court acquits aid workers of migrant-smuggling charges

Over two dozen aid workers involved in refugee rescues in Greece were acquitted of migrant smuggling charges in a multi-year case that rights groups said was a baseless attempt to ban aid for refugees heading to Europe.



European Union countries, including Greece - where more than one million people came ashore during Europe's refugee crisis in 2015-16 - are tightening rules on migration as right-wing parties gain ground across the bloc.



In the trial on the Aegean island of Lesbos, the 24 defendants faced charges including involvement in a criminal group facilitating the illegal entry of migrants as well as money laundering linked to their organisation's funding.



The defendants were affiliated with the Emergency Response Center International, a nonprofit search-and-rescue group that operated on Lesbos from 2016 to 2018.



Among them was Sarah Mardini, one of two Syrian sisters who saved refugees in 2015 by pulling their sinking dinghy to shore and Sean Binder, a German national who began volunteering for ERCI in 2017.



The two were arrested in 2018 and spent over 100 days in pre-trial detention.