#Greece: #Humanrights defenders Tommy Olsen and Panayote Dimitras on trial for their work supporting #refugees and #migrants

Ahead of the trial of human rights defenders Tommy Olsen and Panayote Dimitras on 6 October in #Rhodes on charges relating to their work in support of refugees and migrants Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe said: “The criminal charges against Panayote Dimitras and Tommy Olsen are a gross misuse of anti-smuggling legislation and are not backed by evidence. Both are being targeted for their work documenting serious human rights violations against migrants and refugees."

“The Greek authorities have a long-standing record of going after human rights defenders and criminalizing human rights work, but this is a new low. For the first time, human rights workers are being referred to trial for helping people access asylum procedures. Construing this as ‘smuggling’ is not only a distortion of international and domestic law but a dangerous vilification of NGOs’ valuable work.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2026/10/olsen-and-dimitras-face-trial/