The ITF Executive Board stands unequivocally with seafarer Ali Albokhari and his family and calls for his immediate release.
The criminalization of seafarers is a growing and deeply troubling problem. Seafarers must not become convenient scapegoats for criminal activity they did not commit, know about or control.
Ali has spent three years imprisoned in Türkiye following the discovery of cocaine aboard the Phoenician M in October 2023. Eight other crew members were acquitted for lack of evidence, yet Ali was convicted alongside the Master based on “command responsibility,” despite no evidence directly linking him to the drugs.
Serious questions remain about the investigation. Drugs had previously been discovered aboard the vessel in Colombia and reported by the crew. No fingerprints linked the crew to the packages, and dissenting judges in Türkiye’s highest appeal court reportedly identified significant shortcomings in the investigation.
Holding a position of responsibility aboard a ship cannot, by itself, make a seafarer criminally responsible for the actions of organized criminals.
The ITF recognizes the serious threat posed by drug trafficking and organized crime. Those responsible must be identified and prosecuted. But justice is not served by imprisoning seafarers simply because criminals exploited the vessel on which they worked.
We also recognize the extraordinary courage of Ali’s wife, Elena, who has spent three years fighting for her husband’s freedom.
The ITF Executive Board calls on the Turkish authorities to ensure a full, independent and impartial review of Ali’s case and, absent credible evidence of his personal involvement in drug trafficking, to release him immediately.
Seafarers are workers with fundamental rights. They are not expendable, and they must never be treated as convenient scapegoats for failures elsewhere in the global supply chain.
The criminalization of seafarers must end.
Free Ali Albokhari.
