Greece arrests migrant rescuers on charges of people trafficking
Members of the group charged, the ERCI, deny wrongdoing, saying that they followed every rule and regulation and kept the Greek coastguard informed of their activities.
Thirty members of the Emergency Response Centre International, or ERCI, in Greece have been charged with trafficking refugees.
The accused include a former Olympic swimmer who helped save the lives of 18 people when their boat sank.
Private search-and-rescue groups have become controversial as the refugees and asylum seekers they save from drowning at sea are brought to European shores at a time that European nations are attempting to stop the flow of migrants.
Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulous reports from Lesbos, Greece.
Published On 15 Sep 2018