Two Syrians arrested for protest delaying ferry departure

According to a second, amended announcement, two Syrian men aged 41 and 53 years old, respectively, were arrested on Sunday evening and charged with insubordination and obstructing maritime transport.

The two are accused of being the leaders of a group of foreign nationals that occupied the boarding ramp of the ferry and prevented passengers and vehicles from boarding the vessel, delaying its departure. The refugees and migrants' protest was held to demand that they be transferred from Rhodes to an organised migrant reception facility or to the mainland.

The ship was carrying out a scheduled journey to Piraeus, stopping at Karpathos, Kassos, Sitia and Iraklio on Crete and Santorini. Coast guard officers assisted by the police intervened to remove the protestors and the ship eventually departed at 15:20 on Sunday instead of the scheduled departure time of 11:00, with 535 passengers and 84 vehicles on board. Among those boarding the ship were 40 Syrian nationals being transferred to a Reception and Identification Centre.