EuroMed Rights - 10/01/2025

More than 200 migrants arrived on the island of Crete in the last week of January, mainly from the Libyan coast. Greece continues to be a major arrival point for migrants, with over 60,000 arrivals in 2024.
On January 16th, 9 people were arrested during a police operation in Thessaloniki. The group, made up of eight Greeks and one Pakistani, is accused of holding seven Moroccan migrants hostage.
On January 17^th , 7 migrants died when their boat sank off the Greek island of Samos. 31 people were rescued by the Turkish coastguard.
The ombudsman of the Hellenic Republic published a report on the Pylos shipwreck in June 2023, attributing responsibility to eight Greek coast guards. After an 18-month investigation, he recommended sanctions against these coast guard members. The Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs criticized the report, believing it shifted responsibility onto his men rather than the migrant traffickers.

10/01/2025 – 10/02/2025