Teenage refugees jailed for causing devastating fire in Lesbos asylum seeker camp

Migrants inside the burned-out Moria camp, September 2020

Credit: ANTHI PAZIANOU /AFP

Two teenage refugees have been imprisoned for five years after being found guilty of starting a fire which led to the destruction of the notoriously squalid and overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

The two Afghan youths were found guilty of arson by a court on the island, accused of helping to set fire to the sprawling facility, which was largely destroyed by two consecutive blazes in September.

The camp, which had an official capacity of less than 3,000 but was home to 13,000 asylum seekers, had to be abandoned.

The fires left thousands of people sleeping on the streets for several days until a new tent encampment could be built.

The youths were 17-year-old unaccompanied minors at the time of the fire but have since turned 18.

Four other young men face trial on similar charges. All are from the persecuted Hazara community of Afghanistan.

Moria camp burned down in September 2020

Credit: MANOLIS LAGOUTARIS /AFP

The convictions were denounced as a miscarriage of justice by Legal Centre Lesvos, a local organisation that gives legal support to refugees and migrants.

It said that the defendants had been identified by two police officers. An officer testified that one of the defendants was “tiny and short” but when he was asked to stand up in court, he was a good deal taller than the policeman.

Defence lawyers were only allowed to call one witness per defendant, Legal Centre Lesvos said in a statement.

The legal aid group said it would appeal the convictions, calling the trial “a gross miscarriage of justice.”

“We will continue to fight for justice for the Moria Six and to stand in solidarity with all those who face the unjust collective punishment of Europe’s border regime,” the organisation said.

The new camp at Kara Tepe, built on a former military firing range, is just as bad as the old Moria facility, human rights groups say.

There is “little or no running water, no sewage management or treatment, limited health facilities and woefully inadequate shelter,” said Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees.

Many of the asylum seekers are living in tents which are prone to flooding during heavy rain. Women are at risk of sexual violence, just as they were in Moria, the organisations said.