Greek judge dismisses case against Egyptians accused in shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants

By DEREK GATOPOULOS
Associated Press

KALAMATA, Greece (AP) — A Greek judge has dismissed charges against nine Egyptian men accused of causing a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants last year and sent shockwaves through the European Union’s border protection and asylum operations, after a prosecutor told the court Greece lacked jurisdiction. Shortly after the trial opened in the southern Greek city of Kalamata, public prosecutor Ekaterini Tsironi recommended that the charges be dismissing, saying that Greek jurisdiction could be established because the overcrowded trawler sank outside Greek territorial waters. More than 500 people are believed to have gone down with the fishing trawler, which had been traveling from Libya to Italy. Following the sinking, 104 people were rescued and 82 bodies were recovered.