MADRID: The trial of two Spanish left-wing activists begins today in Greece, El Pais reports. Local human rights lawyers will take their defense, watched closely by the Spanish Foreign Ministry. They could face people smuggling charges. The two left-wing activists were arrested in the port of Igoumenitsa, Greece, as they tried to smuggle eight refugees to Spain on Wednesday, El Pais reports.
Mikel Zuloaga and Begoña Huarte are members of Refugees Welcome platform in the Basque Country. Among the refugees was a Pakistani transsexual woman and seven young people from Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The refugees were released on Thursday.
The couple intended to board a ferry to Italy and then drive to Spain. In a video posted on YouTube, Zuloaga claimed political responsibility for this act of civil disobedience. The video will be provided as evidence that they are not people smugglers.
