Syrian swimmer Sarah Mardini cleared by Greek court over migrant rescues

Mardini, who inspired a Netflix film, was among 24 volunteers acquitted by a Greek court for their efforts to save migrants from drowning.Published On 16 Jan 2026A Greek court has acquitted 24 rescue volunteers, including Syrian competitive swimmer and activist Sarah Mardini, of human trafficking charges designed to discourage those seeking to save migrants and refugees from drowning.Mardini, whose rescue of her sister inspired the 2022 Netflix film The Swimmers, and the other volunteers, had been facing the charges since their arrest in 2018.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4What is Europe’s role in Sudan’s refugee crisis?list 2 of 4In Tunisia, a church procession blends faith, nostalgia and migrationlist 3 of 4Bodies of 17 people found in boat off of Greece’s Cretelist 4 of 4Greece rescues more than 500 asylum seekers off coast of Creteend of listA court on the Greek island of Lesbos ruled on Thursday that volunteers with Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), a Greek nonprofit, were not guilty of charges of facilitating illegal entry and forming a criminal organisation.“All defendants are acquitted of the charges” because their aim was “not to commit criminal acts but to provide humanitarian aid”, presiding Judge Vassilis Papathanassiou told the court.Mardini, a 30-year-old Syrian who sought refuge in Germany in 2015, was present at the court, along with her Irish-German co-defendant Sean Binder.“Saving human lives is not a crime,” an emotional Mardini said after the verdict.“We never did anything illegal because if helping people is a crime, then we are all criminals.”Mardini was part of a group of volunteer activists with the ERCI organisation trying to help migrants and refugees reach the island of Lesbos from Turkiye in 2018. She was arrested at the time and spent three months in prison in Greece.Her lawyer, Zaharias Kesses, said it was “unacceptable” for such high-profile cases to drag on for so long.The aim of such legal action, Kesses argued, “was to criminalise humanitarian aid and eliminate humanitarian organisations. Before this case, thousands of volunteers were on Lesbos, whereas afterwards they were reduced to a few dozen.”‘Criminalisation of humanitarian assistance’The Netflix film The Swimmers is inspired by the story of Mardini and her sister Yusra, who was one of 10 athletes who competed in the Rio Olympics for a Refugee Team.