A Greek court on Kos opened trial proceedings Tuesday against Tommy Olsen, the Norwegian founder of Aegean Boat Report, ...

A Greek court on Kos opened trial proceedings Tuesday against Tommy Olsen, the Norwegian founder of Aegean Boat Report, a group that tracks distressed migrant vessels in the Aegean and notifies Greek and Turkish authorities of their locations. Greek prosecutors accuse him of conspiring to smuggle refugees into Greece and conceal them from authorities. Norway refused to extradite him, with Norwegian officials concluding his activities were not only legal but protected. Olsen, 54, told Al Jazeera that he contacts Greek authorities directly, providing names, locations, and all relevant details of asylum seekers in Greek jurisdiction. "When I inform Greek authorities of asylum seekers in their territory, on land, and give them their location, their names, and everything, that, supposedly, should be a good thing," he said. Greek prosecutors see that act itself as facilitation of smuggling. Human rights groups say the case is part of a broader pattern. Maria Gavouneli, head of the Greek National Committee for Human Rights, said Aegean Boat Report has confirmed testimony used in cases before the European Court of Human Rights, cases that have since resulted in Greece being condemned for illegal pushbacks of asylum seekers. The Council of Europe said last month that Greek measures to address what it called a systematic practice of pushbacks remain inadequate. Athens lawyer Zacharias Kesses, who represents Olsen and two other prosecuted aid groups, called the case judicial harassment designed to keep independent monitors away from the border. In January, all 30 members of Emergency Response Centre International, including Syrian Olympic swimmer Sarah Mardini, were acquitted of similar charges after eight years of legal proceedings. A separate smuggling case against German group Mare Liberum was shelved in 2024 for lack of evidence. Both organisations shut down anyway under the financial pressure of the prosecutions. Greece passed a law in February cutting public funding to any aid group if a single member is accused of a felony. Olsen's private sponsors have also pulled out, fearing reputational damage from the association. He told Al Jazeera his legal bills for o...