Yusra Mardini’s cousin, Sarah Mardini, was arrested in Greece on charges of aiding illegal immigration. She was later released on bail.<\/p>\n
Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer, has a cousin named Sarah Mardini who has also been involved in humanitarian efforts for refugees. Sarah, like Yusra, fled Syria and arrived in Greece, where she began volunteering to help other refugees arriving in the country. In 2018, Sarah was arrested by Greek authorities on the island of Lesbos. She was charged with being part of a criminal organization, money laundering, espionage, and facilitating the illegal entry of immigrants. These charges were related to her work with the Emergency Response Centre International (ERCI), a non-profit organization involved in refugee rescue operations.<\/p>\n
Sarah’s arrest drew international attention and criticism from human rights organizations, which argued that her actions were humanitarian in nature and that the charges were an attempt to criminalize rescue work. After spending more than three months in pre-trial detention, Sarah was released on bail in December 2018. The case against her and other humanitarian workers has been seen as part of a broader crackdown on NGOs and volunteers working with refugees in Europe. As of my knowledge cutoff in 2023, the legal proceedings may still be ongoing, and the case has been part of a larger conversation about the treatment of refugees and those who assist them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yusra Mardini’s cousin, Sarah Mardini, was arrested in Greece on charges of aiding illegal immigration. She was later released on bail. Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee and Olympic swimmer, has a cousin named Sarah Mardini who has also been involved in humanitarian efforts for refugees. Sarah, like Yusra, fled Syria and arrived in Greece, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[275],"yoast_head":"\n