From One Hell to Another: Sudanese Youth Criminalized in Greek Prisons

Sudan Events – Agencies

From War to Prison

In prisons stretching from Crete to Volos, more than 200 Sudanese teenagers and young men sit behind bars. Their alleged crime is not violence, theft, or exploitation, but survival.

They fled one of the bloodiest wars in the world and crossed the Mediterranean seeking safety—only to be prosecuted as “smugglers” under Greece’s strict anti-trafficking laws. Most are between 17 and 26 years old, boys on the edge of manhood. Instead of schools and vocational training, they are spending their youth in cells thousands of kilometers from home.

Sudan’s War: The Push Factors

Since April 2023, Sudan has been consumed by a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). What began as a power struggle in Khartoum quickly spiraled into nationwide devastation.

According to the UN, more than 10 million people have been displaced—today’s largest displacement crisis. Cities such as Khartoum, Omdurman, El Fasher, and El Geneina have been reduced to rubble. Mass killings, sexual violence, and forced recruitment campaigns have especially targeted the young. Education has collapsed, livelihoods vanished, families torn apart.

For many Sudanese youths, flight was not a choice but the only path to survival. Yet survival rarely meant safety. Those who reached Greece—after grueling journeys through Egypt and Libya—now find themselves criminalized simply for steering a boat, passing out water, or carrying a GPS during the crossing.

Criminalization at Europe’s Borders

Under Greek law, steering a boat or assisting a sea crossing qualifies as smuggling, punishable by up to 25 years in prison for each passenger transported. In practice, this means a 17-year-old refugee who touches the tiller of a dinghy can be prosecuted as a hardened trafficker.

“Since 2014, if any of us is forced to steer or help, they call us criminals,” said J., a Sudanese youth currently jailed in Crete. “Most of us had no choice—either cooperate or risk drowning.”

Human rights groups have long argued that such laws target not real smuggling networks but the refugees themselves, the very people meant to be protected. According to a 2023 report by Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), trials often last less than an hour, with poor translation, weak defense, and an almost automatic presumption of guilt.

Julia, a member of the European “Decriminalize” network, explained: “The laws are so broadly written that any act during the crossing—holding a GPS, handing out water, even sitting near the tiller—counts as smuggling. The state uses this to scapegoat migrants while covering up its own responsibility for deaths at sea.”

Greece currently holds more than 2,300 migrants accused of smuggling, many of them Sudanese minors at the time of arrest.

Life Behind Bars

The cost is measured not only in years lost but in broken lives.

“We live behind bars not as refugees seeking safety but as criminals for crimes we never chose,” said J.. “Many of us think of suicide from hopelessness and being cut off from our families.”

Doctors report high levels of trauma, depression, and despair among Sudanese youths in custody. Families back home, displaced by war themselves, struggle to stay in touch. Some do not even know if their sons are alive.

Mustafa, a Sudanese activist in Greece, described the painful impact: “Parents and siblings are desperate. They try to send money or messages, but contact is limited. Many of these boys are completely alone, and their families powerless to help.”

Four Sudanese Boys, Four Voices

Bada Roman Steven, 19
Lost his parents in the war, fled with his sisters to Egypt, then to Libya where he worked as a cleaner under exploitative conditions. Forced at gunpoint to carry a GPS during the sea crossing, he was arrested on arrival in Greece. Six months later, he remains jailed, separated from his sisters. “I am not a criminal. I am a victim of war.”

Musab, 19 Forced by smugglers to steer a boat for 12 hours, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He has not spoken to his family in seven months. “I spoke and explained, but no one listened. I am innocent of what they accuse me.”

Suliman Mazen, 18 Lost his family in Sudan, endured overcrowded detention in Libya before reaching Greece, where he was immediately arrested. In a letter from prison, he wrote: “You are my voice and strength. We are human beings just trying to survive.”

Shoul Hani Zacharia, 17 The youngest. Worked odd jobs in Libya to pay for his crossing. Arrested on arrival in Greece and jailed with older men. Shortly after, his mother died of a heart attack upon hearing of his detention. “We are not criminals. We are children of war and destruction, looking for safety.”

Solidarity Against Repression

Across Europe, solidarity networks have mobilized under the hashtag #FreeTheBoys. Lawyers, activists, and migrant communities are fighting to free the Sudanese youths and reform anti-smuggling laws.

“We organize awareness events, fundraisers, and letter-writing sessions,” said Mustafa. “We work with lawyers on the cases, and help those released to apply for asylum and find housing. The most important thing is for them to know they are not forgotten.”

In Athens, the Alma Community provides holistic support through therapy, arts, and workshops. Director Irenia Tsilvaki explained: “The trauma is not only personal but political, rooted in war, borders, and displacement. Alma is a safe space where refugees are leaders, teachers, and contributors.”

A Legal Battleground

In early September 2025, Crete’s courts became an unusual arena of scrutiny. Fourteen migrants, including several Sudanese teenagers, went on trial under Greece’s smuggling laws. For the first time, international observers were allowed inside.

The outcomes were mixed: four Sudanese were acquitted—the court acknowledged that fleeing war cannot be equated with smuggling. But others, including Egyptians and Nigerians, received sentences ranging from 10 to 25 years.

HIAS Greece stated: “Not only are criminal penalties against refugees prohibited under Article 31 of the Geneva Convention, but those facilitating entry for survival are excluded from the very definition of smuggling.”

Rights groups warned that justice cannot depend on nationality or asylum status. The Border Violence Monitoring Network said: “Tying acquittals to nationality is dangerous. Justice must be universal.”

Europe’s Migration Dilemma

The ordeal of Sudanese youths in Greece highlights a wider European trend: the criminalization of migration itself.

“Across the EU, borders are militarized. Irregular movement is treated as a crime rather than recognized as a human right,” said Julia of the Decriminalize Network.

“It’s not just Greece,” added Mustafa. “Italy, Spain, and others follow the same logic. Refugee youth are criminalized while the real smugglers remain untouched.”

Legal experts argue that the EU Facilitation Directive, which criminalizes assistance in migration regardless of motive, directly violates international refugee law. Without reform, cases like those of the Crete boys will keep repeating.

Justice on Trial in Europe

The testimonies of Bada, Musab, Suliman, and Shoul reveal a painful truth: European border policies are turning refugees into criminals. Their only “crime” was steering a boat, holding a GPS, or giving water to fellow passengers—acts of survival punished with decades in prison.

From his cell, J. said: “We did nothing wrong. We are refugees fleeing war. Our only wish was safety and to help our families. We are human beings, not criminals.”

For now, the fight for justice continues in Greece’s courts and across solidarity networks in Europe. But as one activist put it, the stakes go beyond Crete: “The question is not only whether these boys will be freed, but whether Europe itself can live up to the principles of justice, dignity, and humanity.”