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Manuel Blanco, Julio Latorre and Quique Rodríguez, all from Sevilla and volunteers with the refugee rescue charity Proem-Aid, were on their third mission saving migrants' lives in the Mediterranean when they were arrested at the port along with two members of the Danish NGO Team Humanity.
They had no refugees on board at the time, as they had answered to a false alarm, but were facing 10 years each in jail for every migrant they had rescued.
Blanco said yesterday (Monday) ahead of the trial that theirs was not just a hearing for the five charity workers, but for the entire aid volunteering network, since these organisations 'fill a gap' in refugee assistance that governments do not.
Without them, Blanco said, tens of thousands of desperate migrants fleeing war, political persecution and poverty would die at sea trying to reach safety.
After the trial at the island's capital town of Mitilene last night, the firefighters celebrated their news.
“Without a doubt, this is a huge victory for humanitarian aid,” Proem-Aid said on social media.
“We'll go back and save even more lives!
“Justice has been done – Manuel, Julio and Quique have been acquitted of all charges.”
Danish volunteers Mo Abassi and Salam Aldeem were also let off.
Numerous Spanish film and TV actors had backed their cause, and Spain's interior ministry and foreign office had pledged their full support.
“This verdict shows that saving lives is not a crime,” Blanco said.
“A judge has now said so, and this carries much wider implications.
“I feel as though a two-tonne slab had been lifted from my shoulders – it's like an explosion of happiness.”
The three firefighters used up all their annual leave from their day jobs to work in the Greek islands rescuing refugees.
Their lawyer in Athens calls them 'an example'.
“Residents who were sat comfortably on their sofas opened up their homes and offered help and shelter to rescued migrants,” Jaris Petsikos, defending, revealed.
The photograph shows José Enrique 'Quique' Rodríguez hugging Andalucía's minister for justice, Rosa Aguilar, after his reprieve.
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