Appeal court against 2 of the Moria6 on 7 June 2022

On Tuesday 7 June 2022, two of the six teenagers charged and convicted for the fires that destroyed Moria camp in September 2020, will stand before the Mytilene Juvenile Court on the Greek island of Lesvos. When they were arrested in September 2020, the two teenagers, who are now 18 and 19 years old, were two of the more than 1000 unaccompanied minors in the disastrous Moria camp.

On 9 March 2021, in a trial that disregarded basic procedural standards, they were found guilty of “arson endangering human life” by the Mytilene Juvenile Court, although no credible evidence was presented against them. Both were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment without any mitigating circumstances being recognized.

The scandal continues: Due to a mistake – the court forgot to send the first instance verdict to the court of appeal, the date for the appeal hearing was set at very short notice.

But that was not all: at the beginning of March 2022, the lawyers filed an application for the release of the two youths. Both have achieved a sentence reduction in prison by working and attending school. They have also fulfilled the proof of a permanent residence. This would allow them to be released under Greek law. A decision on their release should have been made long ago. Incriminatingly, the hearing to decide on their applications for release will also take place on 7 June 2022, but in Athens. A challenge also for the team from the Legal Center Lesvos.

We are standing solidarity!

#FreeMoria6