Two Russian citizens Konstantin Semyonov and Ivan Voznikovtsev were sentenced in Greece to 253 years in prison for transporting illegal migrants and human trafficking. Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian branch of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, who is familiar with the process, told RT that the court did not take into account important evidence of the innocence of the Russians.

“Semyonov and Voznikovtsev received such terms for organizing illegal migration. However, they did not do it. And to the last they were sure that the court would sort it out and they would be allowed to go home. Of course they were shocked by the verdict. Such a long period is due to the fact that in Greece it is proportional to the number of migrants found on board. On average, they give from 7 to 12 years per person, "Melnikov said.

Left to work

Semyonov and Voznikovtsev, residents of Izhevsk, left to work in Turkey in 2018. The men found a job advertisement on the Internet. Their responsibilities included the transportation of tourists, while the employer undertook to pay for tickets, meals, accommodation and pay a salary of € 2,000 per month.

As Melnikov told RT, Konstantin planned to work for several months in order to earn his daughter to study. Ivan's mother is disabled, and he dreamed of paying for her treatment. However, the dreams of future sailors were not destined to come true. In the summer of 2019, they were detained by Greek border guards. During this time, they only managed to undergo training and go on their first flight, which became fatal for them.

“They had to overtake the yacht in order to carry tourists on it in the future. They were given a faulty ship. I believe this was intentional. Because when they started talking about the problem, they were asked to reach out to Greece and supposedly there they would be given all the tools and details. But instead of repair materials, illegal migrants came to them on boats. They wrote to the employer and said that they would not participate in this, but he threatened them with reprisals, ”Melnikov said.

According to him, after the illegal immigrants boarded, the ship was overloaded. The sailors did not go out into the open sea so as not to endanger the passengers and sailed along the coast. At this time, they gave a light signal "SOS". As a result, they were noticed by the coast guard and swam to the yacht.

"We thought the court would sort it out"

“They thought they would tell everything, listen to them, figure out the situation. But instead of looking for the organizers of the illegal scheme, they detained our compatriots and accused them of everything. It was easier to do than looking for real criminals. And the organizers will simply find new ones. For them, workers are consumables. They take money on the shore for migrants and they don't care what happens to these boats later.

The volume of this business is colossal. These are not only our compatriots, but many fellow citizens of the CIS. For example, there are five times more Ukrainian citizens in Greece than Russians, ”the human rights activist concluded.

Semyonov and Voznikovtsev provided the court with a vacancy announcement, correspondence with threats from the employer, and evidence that they were forced to do this, but the Greek court did not take into account the arguments of the defense. According to Melnikov, several factors influence the objectivity of such cases in Greece.

“It is very important that a consular representative is present at each investigative action, at each court session. Then the judges behave differently. We saw this in another trial. With our compatriots in the dock there were citizens of another country. Their consul was present, and as a result, this significantly influenced the verdict - the court measured all the defendants so much that they had less than a year to sit in the correctional facility, ”Melnikov says.

In addition, the human rights activist notes that media attention affects the outcome of the trial.

The problem of seafarers in Greece

According to Melnikov, in order to help Russians who find themselves in a similar situation, it is necessary to organize a fundraiser for lawyers. According to him, the Russian Peace Foundation is currently engaged in this, but so far their funds are still not enough.

“About 26 Russian citizens were detained on such charges in Greece. Some have already been condemned, some have not yet. If they are defended by one bar association, then 6-7 thousand euros are required to defend each one. If you provide each of them with a lawyer, this amount will increase to 10 thousand, "the human rights activist told RT.

According to him, sailors cannot even appeal the court verdict without legal assistance. Melnikov assures that it is necessary to submit an application so that, based on the evidence, they are recognized as victims of the organization of human trafficking, as required by the international convention on combating human trafficking.

“Perhaps, if the Foreign Ministry issues a statement to the Greek authorities regarding this situation, that they are concerned about what is happening and this is a violation of the rights of Russian citizens, then perhaps this can affect the situation,” he said.

Melnikov said that he appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova with a proposal to create an interdepartmental working group with the participation of human rights defenders, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, specialized parliamentarians of the committees on international affairs, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Justice in order to consider the most optimal procedures for helping Russian citizens in such situations. According to him, the working group will be able to agree on the extradition of Russians to their homeland.

"There was no notification"

Meanwhile, as earlier Russian diplomats in Greece told RT, the consulate is doing everything possible for the sailors that is within their authority: they visit them in prisons and try to be present at trials.

In addition, as reported on the Facebook page of the Russian embassy, ​​there was no official notification of the verdict to Semyonov and Voznikovtsev.

“Consular officers visited Russian citizens, handed them lists of law firms, information on the regulatory framework for possible transfer to Russia to serve a sentence there, completed the required documents, provided other assistance, monitored the conditions of detention, contacted the prison administration, maintained close contact with relatives of one of detainees, "- said representatives of the embassy.