Dutch aid worker acquitted of people smuggling for helping asylum seekers on Lesbos

Dutch aid worker Pieter Wittenberg was acquitted on Thursday on the Greek island of Lesbos in the people-smuggling case that has been pending against him since 2018. Twenty-three other aid workers were also acquitted, according to the organization Human Power, which followed the trial. Amnesty International also reported the acquittal.

Wittenberg and the other aid workers helped asylum seekers arriving by boat on Lesbos. They were on trial for charges of people smuggling and membership in a criminal organization, among others. According to the court, they have not been proven guilty of these offenses.

“After all these years of persecution, this acquittal feels like taking a breath aftera long dive,” Wittenberg responded. The Dutchman is “incredibly relieved” after his acquittal, but also feels “empty and sad.”

He is grateful that the court “has confirmed that helping people is not a crime,” but he calls the damage that the years of persecution have caused to refugees “indigestible.”

Amnesty International also applauded the verdict, but said it was far too long in coming. “We hope today’s decision sends a strong signal to Greece and other European countries that solidarity, compassion, and defending human rights should be protected and celebrated, not punished.”

The organization stressed that “these charges should never have been brought to trial in the first place,” and that the lives of the defendants had been put on hold for many years.

Among those acquitted is Syrian swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini. The film The Swimmers, about Mardini and her sister, was released on Netflix in 2022 and tells the story of their escape from Syria. Along with German-Irish citizen Séan Binder, Mardini rescued people from the sea. Binder was also acquitted.”