HRW: Greece is putting two migrant rights defenders on trial — the trial starts on Oct 6 in Rhodes

Human Rights Watch today published the statement “Greece: Rights Defenders on Trial”, in which it calls on Athens to drop the charges and end the judicial harassment of two human rights defenders. As Human Rights Watch reports, the criminal prosecution of Panayote Dimitras and Tommy Olsen is a politically motivated attempt to silence them. On Oct 6, the trial of the two activists begins on the island of Rhodes. The statement comes a few days before the start of the court process and describes it as a key moment for the freedom of those who document violations of migrants’ rights at Europe’s borders.

Panayote Dimitras is the founder of the Greek Helsinki Monitor, while the Norwegian Tommy Olsen founded Aegean Boat Report, an organisation that monitors migrant movements in the Aegean. According to Human Rights Watch, the charges against them are creating or participating in a criminal organisation, as well as facilitating the “unlawful entry” and “unlawful stay” of third-country nationals. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison. The case goes back to July 2021, when on the island of Kos the pair helped asylum seekers enter the asylum procedure and documented cases of violent returns of migrants, known as “pushbacks”, by the Greek authorities — a practice the European Court of Human Rights has declared unlawful.

Amnesty International has also reacted in recent days, calling the case “a blatant misuse of anti-trafficking legislation” and stressing that the charges “are not supported by evidence”. According to Amnesty International, it is the first time that human rights workers are being sent to trial for the help they gave to access the asylum procedure. Speaking on behalf of the organisation was the deputy regional director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake.

Since 2023, Dimitras has been under severe pre-trial measures: a ban on leaving the country, an obligation to report to a police station and bail of 10,000 euros. Olsen lives in Norway, where in May 2026 the Hålogaland Court of Appeal refused his extradition to Greece, finding that his actions are not punishable under Norwegian law and that extradition posed a risk to freedom of expression.

“When human rights defenders are criminally prosecuted for documenting what happens at Europe’s borders, the message is: stay silent, or risk becoming a defendant yourself,” Olsen said. For his part, Dimitras stated that the prosecution was intended to harass him and severely restrict his documentation work; according to him, it has left him stigmatised and has prevented him from travelling abroad for more than three years. The trial in Rhodes is expected to be one of the most closely followed internationally this year on migrants’ rights in Europe.