<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>The trial of nine accused smugglers opens on Tuesday, nearly a year after a derelict migrant trawler with hundreds on board sank off the coast of Greece in one of Europe’s deadliest shipwrecks.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nine Egyptian men – who were among the 104 survivors – will appear before a court in Kalamata, southwestern Greece, to answer charges including negligent homicide, participation in a criminal organisation and facilitating illegal entry into the country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The men, aged 21 to 37 years old, have denied responsibility.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Their lawyers say they are being scapegoated to obscure the responsibilities of the Greek coastguard, which failed to mount an effective rescue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The suspects, who have spent the past 11 months in pre-trial detention, face life imprisonment if convicted.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the sinking occurred in international waters, 87km off the coast of Pylos, lawyers for the defendants say a Greek court is not competent to hear the case. - AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd/fas</div>