A court of appeals for felonies in Thessaloniki has imposed harsh sentences against a handful of defendants convicted of transporting third country nationals that had previously illegally entered Greece from the border with Turkey.
Fifteen individuals stood trial, and seven were found guilty, while eight were acquitted for their involvement in alleged criminal activities connected to a smuggling ring that was uncovered by the authorities in the northern Greece metropolis of Thessaloniki in June 2023.
According to reports by the state-run news agency, members of the ring engaged in six transports over three months, moving 47 asylum seekers and irregular migrants, who purportedly paid between 2,000-4,000 euros to cross the Evros River (Maritsa) into Greece.
The leader of the ring is identified as an Iraqi national, who was sentenced to 244 years in prison, but will serve a maximum of 20 years. He was also imposed a fine of 4.5 million euros, according to reports. Nary a euro is usually collected in such cases, as convicted foreign nationals in most cases lack any known assets.
A local man, who acted as a lookout by driving ahead of the vehicle carrying the migrants, received a 145-year prison sentence and a 950,000 euro fine. Another local man, who owns a junkyard where the smugglers parked their migrant-trafficking vehicles, was sentenced 78 years in prison and handed down a 260,000 euro fine.
Other convicted members of the ring acted as drivers, including a woman, who was sentenced to 36 years in prison and given a fine of 190,000 euros.
All of the sentences will be capped at a maximum 20 years in prison, as per the current penal code in effect for major non-violent felonies.
Evros – A Hotspot for Illegal Border Crossings
The Evros River, which separates Greece and Turkey in the northeast Thrace province, is a well-known “crossing” for migrant smugglers and migrants seeking to enter Greece illegally.
The Greek government had previously requested EU funding to erect a fortified border fence along a “bulge” of Turkish territory extending west of the Evros/Maritsa River, the only section where the river does not act as the border demarcation. When Brussels declined, Athens began building the fence with national resources. Several incidents involving smugglers and migrants have in the past generated heightened concerns and even the ire of local residents, with vigilantism reported last year.
Clashes between asylum seekers, standing on Turkish territory, and Greek riot police at the buffer zone in Kastanies, Evros, at the Greek-Turkish frontier at the Evros River, on March 4, 2020. The Turkish government at the time said it would allow ‘free passage’ to refugees and migrants on its territory to try and reach Europe through Greece.
