DEMARCHE DELIVERED - GREEK PROSECUTION OF SUSPECTED M/V

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000875 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/05/28 TAGS: ECON EWWT KCRM MARR PBTS PGOV PHSA PREL GR EG SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED - GREEK PROSECUTION OF SUSPECTED M/V AMIRA PIRATES REF: STATE 51374 CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel V. Speckhard, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) We delivered reftel message inquiring about possible Greek interest in exercising jurisdiction over 17 suspects in U.S. Navy custody on May 21 to MFA D1 (UN and International Organizations Affairs) Counselor Dimitios Papandreaou. Papandreou took note of the details of the case, including our information that a Greek company was the beneficial owner of the M/V Amira, an Egyptian-flagged vessel attacked by pirates May 13. We encouraged the Greek government to give the case serious consideration. We followed up with Papandreou May 26, who in the interim had consulted within the Greek government. He said Greece's reaction was that primary responsibility in this case rested with the flag state under international law, and he urged the U.S. to continue pressing for Egypt to exercise jurisdiction. We asked what Greece's response would be if for any reason Egypt was unwilling or unable to exercise jurisdiction, but Papandreou refused to be drawn out, noting only that it would be necessary to understand the reason why Egypt would be unable to take responsibility for the case. ¶2. (SBU) As a legal matter, Greece's ability to prosecute pirates domestically for this kind of attack is untested. As is the case with many countries, Greece's counter-piracy laws have rarely if ever been used in recent decades, and there is limited legal expertise about them. A contact with the Hellenic Shipowners Union told us May 22 that Greek law would not permit prosecution in the case of beneficial ownership, but only in the case of Greek flagged, owned, or crewed ships. We will continue to follow up on this issue and will attempt to get more definitive answers to these legal questions. SPECKHARD