In a ruling on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France ordered Greece to pay 80,000 euros (roughly USD 87,000) in damages to the wife and two children of Belal Tello, who died, more than a year after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head after Greek coast guards chased the boat he had been travelling in, said The Associated Press.
Tello, a Syrian refugee had been traveling in a motorboat carrying a total of 14 people that failed to stop when ordered to by a two-man Greek Coast Guard patrol boat as it arrived near the small eastern Aegean island of Pserimos on the morning of Sept. 22, 2014. The court stated the motorboat's captain "began dangerous maneuvers," colliding with the Coast Guard patrol boat on two or three occasions and causing limited damage.
According to the AP, a report drawn up on the day of the incident and cited by the court, the Coast Guard fired seven warning shots and 13 shots at the outboard motor, attempting to stop it. Two Syrians on board were wounded; Tello in the head and another passenger in the shoulder. A Greek court tried and convicted two Turkish nationals found to have been in command of the motorboat used for migrant smuggling.
Tello stayed in intensive care in a hospital on the nearby island of Rhodes until March 2015. Later, in August of that year, he was moved to Sweden for continued treatment, where his wife and children lived. However, Tello ultimately succumbed to his wounds that December.
What Were The Court's Findings?
The court concluded that the force applied to halt the motorboat and arrest its captain was "clearly disproportionate." Additionally, it was noted that Coast Guard officers failed to take necessary measures to confirm that no other passengers were on board before opening fire. The AP went on to reveal that the European court had also recognized shortcomings in Greek authorities' investigation of the incident,
Refugee Support Aegean, a rights organization that provides legal assistance for asylum seekers in Greece and was involved in Tello's relatives' lawsuit, said the case "demonstrates yet again well-documented, systemic deficiencies in the planning and implementation of Coast Guard operations and in the investigation of human rights violations at sea."
The brief, but often dangerous, voyage from Turkey's coast to nearby Greek islands has served as a significant route used by individuals escaping poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia to enter the European Union.
Greece rejects accusations that its coast guard systematically carries out illegal summary deportations of recently arrived asylum seekers.
