International
Charges are withdrawn in Greece against the nine Egyptians accused of a shipwreck in which more than 500 migrants died
The court of the city of Kalamata, in southern Greece, decided on Tuesday to withdraw the charges against nine Egyptian citizens accused of having caused the shipwreck of the fishing boat Adriana, which caused the death of between 500 and 700 people off the Greek coast, reported the Greek newspaper Efsyn.
After opening the controversial trial, the court considered the criminal process of the accused “unacceptable” and declared them innocent of the charges of smuggling migrants and illegally entering the country.
As for the charges of causing a shipwreck and participating in a criminal organization, the court decided that it has no jurisdiction over the case, since the incident occurred in international waters.
Upon hearing the decision, the hearing in the crowded room burst into applause, as did the people gathered in front of the court in solidarity with the accused.
“We feel absolutely vindicated both legally and morally,” Efi Dusu, a member of the defense team of Egyptian citizens, made up of eight lawyers, told EFE.
The fishing vessel Adriana sank on June 14 in international waters, although under Greek jurisdiction in terms of rescue operations, off the southwest coast of the Hellenic country.
The exact number of people on board has never been established, but estimates range from 500 to more than 700.
Of these, only 104 people survived.
The rescue teams also recovered about 80 corpses.
According to testimonies of survivors to the NGOs Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Hellenic Coast Guard tied a corporal to Adriana and began tow it, which caused the ship to be angry and finally sank, a version of the facts that the Hellenic authorities categorically deny.
In this sense, Dusu pointed out that “the case has not yet been closed,” since the exact causes that led to the shipwreck continue to have to be investigated and recalled that a naval court continues to inquire into what happened.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction