EXCLUSIVE: Somali man condemned to 142 years in Greece after ‘saving 31 lives’ says was ‘wrongly jailed’

GOOBJOOG NEWS|CHIOS ISLAND, GREECE: A Somali man who is serving over 100 years in a Greek prison has said he was wrongly jailed on grounds that he smuggled immigrants to the European nation despite saving the lives of over 30 people.

Hanad Abdi Mohammad who spoke exclusively to Goobjoog News from Chios Island prison in Greece said he was unjustly sentenced to 142 years.

“I have been charged with several offences, including coming to the country illegally and bringing in people illegally,” Mohamed said.  “I was also accused of smuggling people, I do not have the power to collect people and transfer them to another country.”

According to a report by the New York Times, Mohamed was handed a hefty sentence for piloting the boat which transported the immigrants into Greece. But Mohamed told Goobjoog News he was trying to rescue his colleagues by taking the wheel when Greek authorities arrested them.

“A Turkish man was the captain, and along the way, the phone rang, the other men spoke and told him that the ship was approaching, then the man jumped into the second boat” Mohamed narrated his ordeal.

According to Mohamed, there were two boats; one which carried them and the other carried the Turkish boat owners. They left Turkey on December 1, 2021.

“I tried to drive, I had no prior knowledge, then 20 minutes later while I was driving, the engine turned off, the sea was red, it was dark. We called the Turkish emergency team and they came but instead of helping us, they circled our boat until water sank it.” Mohamed said.

He says the Greek naval police shortly came by and saved them. However, Mohamed adds, when they were safely inside the Greek ship, ‘We counted ourselves and found that two ladies were missing.”

They were now 31. Expecting he would be kindly handled for saving his colleagues, Mohamed says, he was condemned to 142 years in jail.

A team of 15 Members of European Parliaments (MEPs) have since started an online petition to intervene on the matter. They have also urged the Greek government to allow them to visit Mohamed and two other people who were sentenced separately.