UN experts hail European court’s ruling against Greece in fatal shooting of Syrian refugee

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – UN experts hailed a ruling against Greece by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the 2014 fatal shooting of a Syrian refugee by the Greek Coast Guard.

“The judgment in the case of Alkhatib vs. Greece marks an important milestone reiterating the obligations of States to respect the lives of migrants at sea,” they said, referring to the court’s ruling on Jan. 16, which maintained that Greece had violated the right to life under the European Convention on Human Rights.

“The rights of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, in particular the right to life and the principle of non-refoulement, must always be protected in accordance with international human rights law and international refugee law,” they added.

Noting that states have a duty to rescue anyone who finds themselves in a situation of distress at sea, they said “this is a fundamental principle of international law, to be applied without discrimination, regardless of nationality, status, or the circumstances in which the persons concerned are found.”

The incident took place in 2014, when the Greek Coast Guard was chasing a migrant smuggling boat on which the Syrian refugee was traveling and fired several shots at its outboard motor in an attempt to stop it. The refugee was wounded in the head and died in December 2015 after spending months in a hospital.

On Jan. 16, the European court found that Greek authorities had not established clear rules on the potentially lethal use of firearms in coast guard operations.