A Moroccan national accused of being the pilot of a migrant boat that collided with a coast guard patrol vessel on Tuesday evening just off the eastern Aegean Island of Chios, a deadly incident that cost the life of 15 Afghans, requested another 24 hours to appear before an investigating magistrate on the island.
He remained in custody and will appear in court on Saturday.
The man, in his 20s, stands accused of migrant smuggling and possible charges of negligent homicide.
Another 25 people, all Afghans, including women and minors, were rescued after the collision. The migrant boat had set off in the dark from the opposite Turkish coast without navigational lights in a bid to clandestinely reach the Greek island.
A view of the half-sunken migrant inflatable boat off Chios.
According to the man’s lawyers, he categorically denies the criminal charges against him.
Meanwhile, in a related development this week, Greek health minister Adonis Georgiadis charged that unidentified persons describing themselves as members and translators of a NGO attempted to speak with survivors of the migrant boat being treated in Chios’ main hospital.
The outspoken minister, among the “hawks” in the Mitsotakis Cabinet vis-à-vis irregular migration, said the unknown persons aimed to influence the survivors’ testimony over the causes of the collision – i.e. to blame the coast guard for the incident.
Georgiadis, in a post on X, said the charge was made by the hospital’s director.
