criminalisation of migration and their legitimate, peaceful work for the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants’. As highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, ‘human rights defenders promoting and protecting the rights of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, including human rights lawyers, humanitarian workers, volunteers and journalists, have been subjected to smear campaigns, a changing regulatory environment, threats and attacks and the misuse of criminal law against them to a shocking degree’’.174 The Campaign for Access to Asylum,175 in an announcement on 5 October 2022, underlined that: The authorities’ systematic use of misinformation regarding "false reports on pushbacks" aims to cover up illegal practices and to target and put pressure on people and organisations that report these incidents’ and added that ‘…The incident in Evros highlighted the problem of pushbacks in a multitude of ways. Systematic propaganda and misinformation about these practices, which often result in the loss of human lives, is aimed at concealing the truth, obscuring the consequences (deaths, drownings, violence, etc.) and, of course, at targeting lawyers, organisations, as well as media and journalists who report these incidents. Later, in January 2023, regarding charges against 24 human rights defenders who were helping to rescue migrants in distress at sea off Lesvos Island, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants stated that: ‘[t]rials like this are deeply concerning because they criminalise life-saving work and set a dangerous precedent. Indeed, there has already been a chilling effect, with human rights defenders and humanitarian organisations forced to halt their human rights work in Greece and other EU countries’.176 On 13 January 2023, the espionage charges were dropped by the Court. 177 On 30 January 2024,178 in a new trial, the accused were found not guilty on the misdemeanours and the criminal proceedings for the felonies remain pending. In April 2024, the Judicial Council of the Misdemeanour Court of Mitilini issued a decision to drop criminal charges against 35 international aid workers who had been prosecuted for alleged espionage and facilitating the illegal entry of migrants and not to proceed to trial. 179 The Judicial Council dismissed the prosecutor’s allegations and ruled there was insufficient proof to pursue the case against the 35 individuals, mostly German nationals, stating that “[t]here is not enough evidence to support the accusations against the defendants.”180 Since 2022, persecutions of activists working with migrants continue in 2024, notably against the founders of the Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM)181 and of the Aegean Boat Report (ABR), who were both subject to investigations and charged by Greek judicial authorities on the island of Kos for ‘forming or joining for 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor - Visit to Greece (A/HRC/52/29/Add.1), available at: https://bit.ly/43n0hS1, para. 114. Joint Press Release of 16 civil society organisations, Asylum Campaign (Καμπάνια για το Άσυλο) - It is the Greek Government’s responsibility to immediately put a stop to informal forced returns (pushbacks): They endanger human lives and breach the state’s international obligations, 5 October 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3MTm7qM. ‘My concerns were compounded by accounts I received during my country visit to Greece in June 2022 detailing how fear of criminalisation has spread among human rights defenders working in the field of migration in the country. As I underlined in my preliminary observations following the visit, solidarity should never be punished and compassion should never be put on trial’: UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Human rights defenders on trial in Greece, 9 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3MVFVtp France24, Greek court drops spying charges against migrant rescuers, 13 January 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3BQKu1R. The Press Project, «Μεγάλη νίκη στη Μυτιλήνη: Αθώοι για τα πλημμελήματα οι 16 ανθρωπιστές – «Μετά από 6 χρόνια, επιτέλους αποδόθηκε δικαιοσύνη», 30 January 2024, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3xDvzsP. Reuters, Greek court drops criminal charges against 35 international aid workers, 30 April 2024, available here. The Guardian, Greek court drops espionage charges against aid workers, Accused were arrested in Lesbos and accused of facilitating illegal entry of migrants into the country, 1 May 2024, available here. “Some medias have publicized “what appears to be leaked information on the alleged investigation, in some cases alongside a picture of Dimitras. The money laundering case reportedly concerns “funding Dimitras received, mainly from the EU, to support human rights causes, that was used for other purposes than those claimed,” according to a Kathimerini [BP1] article. Dimitras said the only EU funds his organization receives, as published on the European Commission’s website, are for the fight against hate speech and called these claims unfounded “slander.” See, Human Rights Watch, Greece: Smear campaign against rights activists, 19 June 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/43OSihL. See, also, Asylum Campaign (Καμπάνια για το Άσυλο) Press Release, The attempt to silence human rights defenders continues. What remains to be decided are its accompanying measures, 22 December 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/45BXpT4. 52