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Athens, Greece – 4 Afghan asylum seekers convicted of beginning a fireplace that burned down an enormous Greek refugee camp are awaiting a courtroom choice at their enchantment listening to.
The defendants, all residents of Moria on the time, at the moment are ages 18, 20, 20 and 23. He was formally indicted for the hearth that devastated the camp on the island of Lesbos in June 2021, in a transfer his attorneys say was procedural. Errors. He has been held in two separate prisons on the Greek mainland since 2020.
A call is predicted this week within the appeals courtroom of Lesbos.
Two different Afghans additionally accused of beginning the hearth had been registered as minors on the time and, consequently, had been tried individually. The younger duo misplaced its enchantment final 12 months.
In June 2021, all 4 had been convicted of “arson endangering human life” by the blended jury courtroom of Chios and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
In response to his attorneys, the proof introduced was weak – just one written witness testified to the police.
The witness, one other camp resident, confirmed the defendants' identities via “5 particular images,” the attorneys stated.
“Not one of the prosecution's different witnesses, whether or not law enforcement officials or firefighters, had been in a position to establish the defendants, though they had been eyewitnesses to the hearth,” a press release from the Authorized Middle Lesvos stated. On the time of his first trial in 2021.
Lesbos was one of many details of entry for asylum seekers into Europe in the course of the “refugee disaster” years of 2015–16 and upon arrival many individuals had been delivered to the Moria camp for processing.
When the notorious web site burned down in September 2020, it made headlines world wide, with assist teams already describing it as “hell on Earth”.
It was identified for its filth and overcrowded situations. At its peak, the camp hosted roughly 20,000 folks in an area initially designed for about 3,000 folks. Residents took shelter in tents and huts in overflow areas round the primary camp.
The hearth, which was first detected late on September 8 4 years in the past, shortly unfold to the olive groves on the hill on which the camp was constructed.
On the night time the camp burned down, Thanasis Voulgarakis, a human rights activist from Lesbos, instantly arrived on the camp.
“All the pieces was burning, actually all over the place was on fireplace,” he stated. “The entire night time was like that and other people had been attempting to assist different folks get out, containers and plastic from the tents had been burning all night time and there was simply panic however no less than nobody acquired damage, it was a miracle “
The hearth was nonetheless burning the following morning. Black smoke was billowing from the camp, which had changed into a heap of twisted metallic and plastic. The flames left behind charred dwell containers and tents, and lots of pathways had been nonetheless suffering from folks's belongings that they needed to abandon to flee the inferno. The times following the hearth noticed chaotic scenes as 1000’s of individuals had been left homeless on the streets of Lesbos, whereas authorities ready a brand new “momentary” camp at a close-by web site that’s nonetheless in use.
Activists and rights teams condemned European migration insurance policies for detaining such giant numbers of individuals.
Greek Migration Minister on the time Notis Mitarachi stated that “the arsonists of Moria have been detained (and) everybody's security is assured”, though no prosecution had taken place but.
Legal professionals representing the 4 have stated that the ultimate trial “ignored fundamental procedural and substantive safeguards”.
He famous that the only witness didn’t seem in courtroom and therefore couldn’t be cross-examined. His testimony alleges that the defendants opened fireplace in a particular space of the Moria camp on a particular day. Nevertheless, his attorneys say that in keeping with the native fireplace service, this a part of the camp didn’t burn on that individual day. Legal professionals allege a number of different points within the 2021 lawsuit, together with “inaccurate or incomplete interpretations.”
Forensic Structure and Forensics, analysis businesses that had been appointed by the attorneys of the accused to analyze the case, recognized the Moria fireplace in 2023 after analyzing a whole lot of movies, pictures, proof and official stories to reconstruct the occasions of the night time. Evaluation launched.
He stated there have been a number of fires prior to now few years, particularly in September, when “the land is the driest on this Mediterranean area”.
“Dry situations, in addition to the uncertainty and density created by insurance policies imposed by Greek and EU authorities, have led to an enormous improve within the incidence of huge fires round this time annually,” he stated. “Our evaluation highlights vital inconsistencies within the testimony of the important thing witness and casts additional doubt on the proof on which the choice relating to the younger asylum seekers was primarily based.”
Vicky Aggelidou, one of many attorneys on the Authorized Middle Lesvos, stated that within the 2021 trial, journalists and authorized observers had been barred from getting into the courtroom below the pretext of COVID-19 restrictions.
He informed Al Jazeera, “If journalists and the general public had not been banned from getting into the courtroom in the course of the first trial, they’d have witnessed a ridiculous present trial that led to the conviction of 4 of the Moria Six with none credible proof.” Ordained.” “We’ve been ready for nearly three and a half years for a good and neutral trial by which the protection arguments and proof are literally thought of by the courtroom, throughout which era all 4 have remained in jail. Though the courts might want to bury this case below the ashes of Moria, we’ll by no means cease combating for the independence of Moria 6.
“Greek and European migration insurance policies ought to be prosecuted, not these six younger Afghans.”