Colin Sheridan: Seán Binder was cleared — but the damage to humanitarian activism is already done

Seán Binder’s acquittal raises uncomfortable questions about how Europe treats humanitarian work, and why quiet activism rarely survives public memory

This week, Seán Binder, an Irish lawyer and former humanitarian worker from Co Kerry, was found not guilty in a Greek court of people smuggling, belonging to a criminal organisation, and money-laundering. The prosecutor advised acquittal. The judges agreed unanimously. After almost eight years, the case collapsed.

“The foundation of the smuggling charge was that we did search and rescue,” Binder said afterwards. The spying charge was that they used Whatsapp. The money-laundering charge stemmed from fundraising to buy laundry machines.