Greece found to have violated Syrian refugee’s right to life by firing on vessel

European court of human rights orders Athens to pay €80,000 to family of Belal Tello, who died after 2014 incident

The European court of human rights has ruled that Greece violated a Syrian refugee’s right to life when coastguards fired more than a dozen rounds at the people smugglers’ boat he was on nearly a decade ago.

The Strasbourg-based court ordered the country to pay €80,000 in damages to the wife and two children of Belal Tello, who was shot in the head as Greek coastguards sought to halt the boat he was travelling in. Tello died in 2015, following months of hospitalisation.