This is what a ‘legal victory’ looks like in a deeply unjust system.
Crete, Greece – On April 30, 2025, the trial of 18-year-old Ariad and 19-year-old Chatiem took place in Chania, Greece. Both were charged with so-called “smuggling” offenses — accused of facilitating the unauthorized entry of 70 and 17 people, respectively. They faced the terrifying prospect of 355 and 90 years in prison — sentences that had already been handed down to other Sudanese teenagers in March, in rushed trials with court-appointed lawyers and virtually no public scrutiny.
For their trials, we had secured a strong legal defense and were present ourselves. The case did not proceed to a full trial. Instead, a plea-deal was negotiated with the prosecutor, in which Ariad and Chatiem pleaded “guilty” for driving the the boat to reach Europe in exchange for a significantly reduced sentence.
As a result, the court ultimately sentenced them to 10 years of fylakisi (standard imprisonment), sparing them the harsher kathirxi (long-term imprisonment) sentence of 25 years, of which at least 15 would have had to be served. With fylakisi, early release becomes possible after two-fifths of the sentence — around four years — and potentially earlier in practice, depending on reduction for going to school, work, or ‘good conduct’ in prison. In reality, a release after roughly three years is now a realistic possibility.
Given the harsh and punitive legal framework in Greece, this outcome must be considered a legal ‘success.’ Especially considering the high number of passengers involved in the case of Ariad, it was highly unlikely that the prosecution would accept a deal resulting in fylakisi sentencing.
Without their lawyer Spyridon Pantazis providing a strong legal defense, Ariad and Chatiem would certainly have received far longer kathirxi sentences, like those already sentenced.
However, this is no reason to celebrate.
We must not lose ourselves in legal technicalities or take comfort in relative victories. The reality remains stark: two young men — Ariad and Chatiem — are now set to spend years in prison under harsh conditions in a foreign country, deeply worried about their families in the war in Sudan.
This is a cause for outrage, not relief.
That we find ourselves relieved by a three-year sentence — or even ten — speaks volumes about the cruelty of a legal system where life sentences are handed down to those who have done nothing more than try to migrate.
The courtroom itself made this broader injustice painfully visible: row upon row of boys and men of colour, handcuffed together, awaiting their own smuggling trials. This is the ‘normality’: People charged with “smuggling” now constitute the second-largest group in Greek prisons, 90% foreigners — it is a mass incarceration regime that criminalizes migration under the guise of “fighting crime.”
The fact that these two young men were coerced into pleading guilty under the threat of decades in prison is itself part of the injustice. This is not justice; it’s survival within a broken system.
A system that forces you to apologize for something that needs no apology — a performance of ‘crime’ and ‘justice,’ a theater of the absurd, designed to convince everyone — even yourself — that while people may agree the laws might be too harsh, you are, nevertheless, a little guilty of something.
“Yes, I steered the boat a little, but I really didn’t want to. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, these boys really don’t deserve life imprisonment.”
But there’s nothing to apologize for. And life imprisonment isn’t the core issue. These kinds of statements reveal how deeply the racist injustice is already at work — not just in the sentencing, but in the way guilt is manufactured and forced upon people.
The problem lies in these laws. They are wrong.
They must be abolished.
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You can read the full story of Ariad here:
These cases have been supported collectively by de:criminalize and Captain Support.