Seán Binder on trial in Greece on smuggling charges along with 23 other migrant rescue volunteers

Sean Binder, left, speaks to his mother before his trial (Panagiotis Balaskas/AP)

A group of 24 volunteers, including Seán Binder a German citizen who grew up between Cork and Kerry, who took part in migrant rescue operations have gone on trial on the Greek island of Lesbos on smuggling-related charges in a case that has been strongly criticised by human rights groups.

The Greek and international volunteers also include the Syrian-born competitive swimmer Sara Mardini, whose sister Ysra Mardini was part of the refugee swimming team at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo earlier this year.

Munster aid worker, Binder, is facing a litany of charges in Greece today for work connected to helping refugees in Lesbos in his role as a rescue diver and trained maritime search and rescuer.

Sean Binder stands in the yard of a court before his trial in Lesbos, Greece, today. The Munster aid worker is facing a litany of charges in Greece today for work connected to helping refugees in Lesbos in his role as a rescue diver and trained maritime search and rescuer (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

The law graduate was arrested on August 21, 2018, alongside other volunteers. He faces 25 years in prison for charges related to a period in 2017 and 2018 when he was volunteering on search and rescue missions for Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI). Seán spent 106 days in pre-trial prison before being permitted to post €5,000 bail and return to Cork.

Binder, a graduate of Trinity College and the London School of Economics, is charged with several offences, including formation and membership of a criminal organisation, facilitation of illegal entry, infringement of state secrets, possession of a radio without a licence, money laundering, espionage, and forgery.

The volunteers, including many who spent several months in pre-trial detention, face a range of charges including misdemeanour counts of espionage-related offences, illegal access to state communications and assisting criminal activity.

Supporters of activists gathered outside the court before their trial in Lesbos (Panagiotis Balaskas/AP)

They deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that they simply wanted to help save lives when the island of Lesbos was overwhelmed by refugee and migrant arrivals from nearby Turkey.

A protest for Seán has been organised in Cork city this evening at Mary Elmes Bridge.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other rights groups say the charges should be dropped.

“The charges perversely misrepresent the group’s search-and-rescue operations as a smuggling crime ring,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement ahead of the trial.

Greek Nasos Karakitsos, left, and Irish German Sean Binder stand outside court before their trial in on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos. (AP Photo/Panagiotis Balaskas)

More than a million migrants and refugees, many escaping war in Iraq and Syria, travelled to Lesbos and other Greek islands from Turkey in 2015-16, with most moving on to Germany and other European Union countries.

The Greek government has taken a tougher line with illegal and irregular migration in recent years, intercepting boats at sea and extending a steel wall along its land border with Turkey.

It denies frequent allegations by migrant advocacy groups that it carries out summary deportations, also known as pushbacks.