Sarah Nardini, the activist whose rescue of her own sister inspired a hit Netflix film, on Thursday went on trial in Greece alongside 23 other people to face charges including migrant trafficking.
The 2022 Netflix film “The Swimmers” is inspired by the story of Mardini and her sister Yusra, who was one of 10 athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics for a Refugee Team.
Mardini, 30, made the perilous Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece in 2015, and later settled in Berlin.
In 2018, she was part of a group of volunteer activists with the NGO ERCI trying to help migrants reach the island of Lesbos from Turkey.
She was arrested at the time and spent three months in prison in Greece.
For these actions, she now faces charges including “participation in a criminal organisation” and “illegal facilitation of the entry of foreign nationals from third countries into Greece”.
The activists face a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
In 2023, they were acquitted in another case involving offences related to their humanitarian work, including “espionage”.
The ERCI group no longer operates but Human Rights Watch in a statement criticised judicial authorities for “harassing” rescuers.
“This case is a striking example of a worrying trend in Europe to criminalise solidarity towards migrants,” the group said in a statement.
The trial is expected to last several days.
Source: AFP
