The Single-Member Court of Appeal for Felonies in the Dodecanese handed down a total prison sentence of 380 years and one month, along with a total fine of €3,850,500, to two Russian traffickers. They were found guilty of smuggling 74 illegal migrants, including children, in the fall of 2023. The migrants were discovered crammed onto a sailboat near Astypalaia.

The court found both Russian traffickers guilty without applying the aggravating legal provisions, sentencing them to 15 years in prison and a fine of €200,000 for each person transported. The appeal does not have a suspensive effect, meaning the convicted men will serve their sentences immediately.

The accused were two Russian men, aged 43 and 33, who were arrested while the migrants were rescued by coast guard officers and nearby vessels.

The men were charged with illegal transport of third-country nationals for profit, endangering lives, and illegal entry into Greece.

Incident Details

The incident occurred on September 22, 2023, when the Hellenic Coast Guard’s search and rescue center received a distress call via the 112 emergency line about a vessel in trouble southeast of Astypalaia.

The sailboat was found adrift 5.6 nautical miles south of Astypalaia, with 74 people on board (40 men, 9 women, 23 boys, and 2 girls). They were safely picked up by a patrol boat and transferred to the port of Kos. Later, they were moved to the Reception and Identification Center (RIC) on the island. The migrants were primarily from Iraq and Iran.