Greece: Four Afghan migrants jailed for Moria camp fire Human Rights News

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Defendants’ attorneys allege a “lack of sense of justice” in the lawsuit because the couple is guilty of arson.
Four asylum seekers in Afghanistan have been sentenced to 10 years in prison fire which destroyed the Moria migrant camp in Greece last year.
A court in Chios found the defendants guilty of arson on Saturday when their lawyers complained of a “lack of sense of fairness” in the appeal they filed immediately after the AFP news agency was sentenced.
The young Afghans were rightly bound before the court and hoped to return to the Avlona prison on the outskirts of Athens, where they were before the trial.
In March, two other young men in Afghanistan were sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the case.
Moria camp – Aegean island of Lesbos – more accommodation In September 2020 before the two fires were destroyed by 10,000 people. No one was killed fire.
Greek authorities believe the camp was deliberately started by fire quarantine measures were established among people living in the area after COVID-19 cases were found.
Approximately 20 people, mostly members of foreign solidarity groups, gathered outside the court to demand the release of the accused.
Defense attorneys have said the Afghans have not got a fair trial.
The prosecution is largely based on the testimonies of another Afghan asylum seeker, who was charged with six counts.
But according to defense attorneys, the witness did not appear in court on Friday and did not appear at the March trial because they could not be found.
Defendants say the target was a Pashtun ethnic group, six of whom are from Hazara, a minority persecuted in Afghanistan.
Other prosecution witnesses called police, firefighters to the scene in September 2020 and European Asylum Service staff and non-governmental groups who worked in the camp.
To build space for 3,000 people in 2013, the Moria camp was overwhelmed in 2015 when a huge wave of people began to arrive on small Turkish boats.
About 13,000 asylum seekers, including families with children, pregnant women and people with disabilities, had to stay open for a week after the camp was destroyed by fire.
Authorities then set up a temporary camp in Lesbos, carrying about 6,000 people.
The EU has allocated $ 336 million for the construction of a new permanent camp in Lesbos and similar facilities on the islands of Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros.
There are currently around 10,000 asylum seekers living in these five Aegean islands, most of them hoping to live in other parts of the EU.
A migrant takes his belongings after a fire in the Moria camp [File: Reuters]
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