MADRID, May 7 (Xinhua) -- All charges were dropped on the first day of the trial of three Spanish firemen who faced charges of people trafficking on the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, reported Spanish media El Mundo.
Manuel Blanco, Quique Rodriguez and Julio Latorre, who are all from Seville, south Spain, were arrested by the Greek coastguard on Jan. 14, 2016 while working with the charity organization Proem Aid to rescue refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
Speaking to the media after the verdict, Rodriguez said he was very emotional, commenting that the three saw the verdict as "support" for their rescue work, adding they had the strength to "continue."
Meanwhile, Blanco said the verdict showed that "saving lives is not a crime", and celebrated that the trial had made it possible for them to tell TV cameras that "lives are still being lost in the Mediterranean.
The case of the three firemen had been headline news in Spain on Monday, with the trio receiving support from Spanish authorities.
Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido (a former Mayor of Seville) posted a tweet in which he expressed "all of my support and collaboration, as well as that of the Spanish government".
Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis also tweeted his support for the trio, adding that the Spanish embassy in Athens was "following the situation with close attention".
