Greece Boat Disaster: Suspects Plead Not Guilty

GREECE – Nine Egyptian men accused of causing a disaster last week when a vessel carrying hundreds of people sank off the Greek coast have pleaded not guilty.

The nine suspects – all aged between 20 and 40 – are accused of people-smuggling and other offences.

A lawyer for one of the men said his client was a passenger, not a smuggler.

At least 78 migrants are known to have died in the disaster but many more are feared to have drowned.

The UN’s Human Rights Office says that up to 500 people are still missing.