The Court of Appeal of Dodecanese Islands in Rhodes, Greece, has sentenced a 32-year-old Armenian citizen to 18 life sentences. The verdict was based on a speedboat accident near the island of Rhodes that killed two migrants, Greek media report.

The verdict was handed down on Tuesday. The court found the 32-year-old man guilty on all charges, without considering any mitigating circumstances. The life sentence was imposed 18 times—one term for each person transferred. In addition, he was sentenced to 9 months in prison and a fine of 2,400,500 euros. The appeal does not stay the execution of the sentence.

The same case also involved a 31-year-old Azerbaijani and a 34-year-old Armenian citizen. The court found them guilty only of illegal entry into Greece and sentenced each to nine months in prison, suspended for three years, and fined them 1,500 euros each.

The incident occurred in the early morning hours of October 14, 2025, in Paradisi village of Rhodes. The aforesaid speedboat had left Marmaris, Turkey, on the evening of October 13. There were 21 people on board. After midnight, at around 00:20, the watercraft spotted a Greek patrol boat heading towards Rhodes.

According to the Greek side, the coast guard officers demanded to stop with light and sound signals, but the boatman did not obey. A pursuit began, during which the boat made dangerous maneuvers, after which it capsized. All passengers ended up in the water, and according to the case materials, they were not wearing life jackets.

Greek coastguard officers managed to rescue 16 people—12 men and 4 women. Later, the bodies of two more passengers—a 10-year-old boy from Iraq and a 21-year-old Palestinian from Gaza—were pulled from the water. A forensic examination determined that the cause of their death was drowning.

Three men—a 31-year-old citizen of Azerbaijan and two citizens of Armenia, aged 32 and 34—were arrested after the incident The rescued migrants identified them as the people who organized their illegal transfer and were driving the boat.

During the trial, the rescued passengers said that they had found these boatmen mainly through social media and paid between 3,500 and 4,300 euros for the trip. According to their testimonies, there were three men on the boat, whom they called “captains”; two of them took turns steering the boat, while the third gave instructions on the route. They also claimed that after the appearance of a Greek patrol boat, these men began to abruptly change course, as a result of which the boat capsized.

The 32-year-old Armenian citizen initially admitted that he had steered the boat himself, but insisted that he had acted on the instructions of the organizer in Turkey in order to reach Greece for free. Later, he took full responsibility for steering the boat, stating that the other two defendants were just passengers.

Also, he claimed that Greek border guards had fired into the air, and that he perceived what happened as an attack. In addition, the man stated that the patrol boat collided with their boat. Meanwhile, the commander of the Greek patrol team stated in his testimony that the accident was caused by the dangerous maneuvers of the boatman—moreover, there is no mention of any collision.

The 31-year-old Azerbaijani and 34-year-old Armenian citizens initially denied their involvement. They assured that they were also passengers and paid 4,000 euros each to reach Europe, and the boat was driven exclusively by the 32-year-old Armenian citizen.

According to Greek media, the three men were initially charged with the illegal transportation of third-country nationals by water transport, which was carried out as part of a group, for mercenary motives, and resulted in the death of people, as well as illegal entry into Greece and disobedience. The case materials also stated that the boat was overloaded, did not have the necessary lifesaving equipment and navigation lights, and the defendants did not have the appropriate license to operate the boat.

As a result, the Greek court found the 32-year-old citizen of Armenia fully guilty, while sentenced the other two defendants only for illegal entry into Greece.