Greece brings criminal charge against Afghan refugee over son's death

Greek authorities have charged an Afghan refugee, whose son died while attempting to reach a Greek island, with endangering a life, a crime that could carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The 25-year-old man and his 6-year-old son were among a total of 25 people who were found on the shores of the eastern Aegean island of Samos last week.  

Dimitris Choulis, the refugee's lawyer, told the Guardian that it took authorities many hours to mount a rescue mission and that as far as he knew Frontex, the EU border agency had not been asked to assist in the rescue.

"My concern about this case is not only the delay on the rescue mission... [but also] there is a bigger concern that these charges are going to be used as one more obstacle to any asylum seeker to actually come here to apply for asylum," he said. 

"If [asylum seekers] know that if you get into a boat with your family you will be criminally charged because you put them in danger, then we create more obstacles for people to arrive here," he told the British paper.

Legal experts say the case was unprecedented.

"In other cases of shipwrecks that have happened since 2015, including those resulting in deaths, we never witnessed criminal charges being pressed on asylum seekers during their entrance in the country," The Guardian quoted Vassilis Kerasiotis of HIAS Greece.

HIAS offers free legal advice to asylum seekers in the country. 

READ MORE: UN: Dozens of migrants drown after boat breaks down off Libya coast

Case shows failure of European Union

Greece is one of the most popular routes for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa and hoping to enter the European Union. 

The vast majority make their way to eastern Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast.

Although the distance is small, the journey is often perilous, with smugglers frequently using unseaworthy and vastly overcrowded boats and dinghies that sometimes capsize or sink.

Although it is common for Greek authorities to arrest whoever is identified as having steered a migrant vessel to Greece, in the cases of shipwrecks it is rare for the surviving parents of children who die to be charged with criminal offences.

"These charges are a direct attack on the right to seek asylum and it is outrageous that a grieving father is being punished for seeking safety for him and his child," said Josie Naughton, founder of the aid organisation Help Refugees/Choose Love.

"Criminalising people that are seeking safety and protection shows the failure of the European Union to find a solution to unsafe migration routes that forced thousands to risk their lives to seek protection," Naughton said.

READ MORE: Erdogan: 25,000 migrants have died crossing Mediterranean over eight years