Greek defense team says 9 Egyptians accused of causing deadly shipwreck were misidentified as crew

By ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The legal defense team for nine Egyptian men due to go on trial in southern Greece next week accused of causing one of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwrecks say they will argue Greece has no jurisdiction in the case. The lawyers also insisted on Thursday that their clients were innocent survivors who have been unjustly prosecuted. The nine are due to go on trial in the southern city of Kalamata on May 21 on a series of charges. They include migrant smuggling and causing a deadly shipwreck. The nine face multiple life sentences if convicted. The Adriana was an overcrowded fishing trawler that had been en route from Libya to Italy with hundreds of asylum-seekers on board when it sank on June 14.