Iasonas has been involved in SAR operations since 2015, saving thousands of lives in the Aegean and Mediterranean.
This time, government spokesman Giannis Economou called him a 'traitor to his country' during a speech in the European Parliament.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cd8DBvVAZuz/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The reason? Iasonas spoke out against Europe's brutal migration policies and the Greek government's barbaric refoulement in the Aegean.
This new attack on him has provoked a massive wave of hate speech and intimidation from the far right, including dozens of death threats. Anonymous pro-government Twitter accounts have publicly called for his assassination by the secret services. All this comes at a time of heightened military tensions in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. Erdogan and Mitsotakis threaten each other with war on a daily basis.
A few months earlier, the same far-right accounts had circulated the address of his family home, complete with a photo of the front door. In this case, Mediterranea sent a letter to the Greek embassy in Rome asking them to intervene with the Greek government to ensure the protection and safety of him and his family.
mediterranearescue.org/news/lettera-allambasciatore-della-grecia-sulle-minacce-a-iasonas-apostolopoulos/
Among other things, Iasonas told the European Parliament:
"In Greece we have the only coastguard in the world which, instead of rescuing people from the sea, throws them overboard. The Greek authorities kidnap migrants who have already reached Greek shores and throw them back into the open sea'.
What Iasonas Apostolopoulos told the European Parliament is nothing new. This barbaric practice by the Greek government has been documented by a wide range of media and international organisations such as Der Spiegel, The Guardian and Amnesty International.
The UNHCR alone has recorded 540 cases of refoulement by Greece along the Greek-Turkish border since the beginning of 2020.
These investigations led to the resignation of the head of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, a month and a half ago. There is overwhelming evidence that Frontex has covered up crimes against refugees at sea committed by the Greek coastguard.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/apr/28/revealed-eu-border-agency-involved-in-hundreds-of-refugee-pushbacks
We stand by our comrade and declare that solidarity and rescue at sea are not crimes.
It is not a crime to denounce human rights violations.
The only crime is the Fortress Europe border regime that condemns thousands of people to death every year.
As long as this criminal policy exists, we will always fight against it.
Solidarity will win!
