Category Archives: Griechenland

[Vial 15] Freedom for the Vial 15 on Chios!

(Ελληνικά, Deutsch, Italiano, Español, فارسی, below)

On Tuesday, 22 June, the trial against the Vial 15 will take place in the court of Mytilini, Lesvos Island. 15 people from different countries have been accused for riots and fire within the EU Hotspot Camp Vial on Chios Island on the night of 18-19 April 2020. The arrests followed protests against the inhumane conditions of Vial camp after a women died in an isolation container.

The 15 defendants are charged with arson with risk to human life, destruction of private property, causing injuries to people and forming a criminal group. As we have seen in many cases such as the recent trial against the Moria 6, they have been arrested without thorough investigation.

The only evidence against most of the defendants is that a police officer claimed to have recognized them in the police data base on his computer based on their appearance such as heigh and hair colour. However, the protests happened at night. The police heavily attacked the protestors with teargas and the people had their faces covered – with masks because of the Covid-19 pandemic and scarfs because of the teargas grenades and the heavy smoke coming from the fire. Only few people were arrested on the same day simply based on the fact that they were carrying lighters or knifes – which are commonplace objects in a camp, needed for cooking and smoking.  The majority of the defendants were arrested between two and twenty days after the fire.

At the time, about 7000 people were living in Vial, a camp whose infrastructure is only designed for 1000 people. Most of the people live in an informal area in self-built huts and shelters under fatal hygienic conditions. The 15 people were arrested during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of great insecurity how the virus would affect the camp residents. The Greek and European authorities managing the camps reacted mainly by trying to quarantine the residents in the camps through strict curfews and fines. While people were unable to leave the camp, hardly any medical or hygienic precautions were taken within the camps, making the people feel even more abandoned.

After the death of a 47-year old woman from Iraq, the situation escalated and protests broke out. The woman died, reportedly from either a heart attack or an obstruction. She had been to hospital two days previous with bradycardia and arrhythmias where she was tested for COVID-19 and given  medication. Once she returned to Vial, she was locked in one of the new containers outside the camp, as an isolation precaution, and had a panic attack. Her husband found her dead in the container.

No one has been held accountable for the death of the women in Vial camp and all the unknown death within the camps and at sea as well as for the suffering of the people. Instead, 15 people selected on flimsy evidence will now be punished for the destruction of the camp facilities. They have already been punished without any court procedure, being held in pre-trial detention for one year and two months. The court has been postponed twice because of COVID-19, it is the third time that they are transferred in handcuffs to Mytilene Police Station.

Although there is no credible evidence, we are afraid that they will be convicted and criminalized as the scapegoats for the European and Greek migration policies, creating unbearable living conditions in camps on the Greek Islands. We have seen how the Moria 6 were sentenced to 5 and 10 years imprisonment, although the procedure was full of flaws and the only witness of the accusation did not appear in court.

We are tired of watching this senseless destruction of peoples’ lives. The criminalization of migrants’ protests has to stop.

The crime is not that Vial and Moria were burned, the crime is their existence!

Free the Vial 15!

Απελευθέρωση στους 15 της ΒΙΑΛ!

Την Τρίτη, 22 Ιουνίου, θα πραγματοποιηθεί η δίκη εναντίον των ΒΙΑΛ 15, στο δικαστήριο της Μυτιλήνης στη Λέσβο. 15 άνθρωποι από διαφορετικές χώρες κατηγορήθηκαν για ταραχές και πυρκαγιές στο χοτ σποτ της ΒΙΑΛ στη Χίο, τη νύχτα από τις 18 στις 19 Απριλίου 2020. Ως αποτέλεσμα των συλλήψεων, ακολούθησαν διαμαρτυρίες από τους μετανάστ(ρι)ες ενάντια στις απάνθρωπες συνθήκες του καμπ της ΒΙΑΛ, μετά από τον θάνατο μιας γυναίκας που έχασε την ζωή της σε ένα κοντέινερ απομόνωσης.

Οι 15 κατηγορούμενοι κατηγορούνται για εμπρησμό με κίνδυνο την ανθρώπινη ζωή, καταστροφή ιδιωτικής περιουσίας, προκαλώντας τραυματισμούς σε ανθρώπους και για συμμετοχή σε εγκληματική συμμορία. Όπως έχουμε δει σε πολλές αντίστοιχες περιπτώσεις, όπως και στο πρόσφατο δικαστήριο εναντίον των 6 της Μόριας, συνελήφθησαν χωρίς να έχει πραγματοποιηθεί καμία έρευνα.

Μόνο δύο άτομα συνελήφθησαν την ίδια μέρα, απλά με βάση το γεγονός ότι κουβαλούσαν αναπτήρες ή μαχαίρια – που είναι κοινά αντικείμενα σε ένα καμπ που απαιτούνται για το μαγείρεμα και το κάπνισμα. Τα υπόλοιπα 13 άτομα συνελήφθησαν μεταξύ δύο και είκοσι ημερών μετά την πυρκαγιά. Τα μόνα στοιχεία εναντίον των περισσότερων είναι ότι ένα αστυνομικός ισχυρίστηκε ότι τους αναγνώρισε στην βάση δεδομένων της αστυνομίας στον υπολογιστή του με βάση την εμφάνιση τους όπως είναι το ύψος τους και το χρώμα των μαλλιών τους. Ωστόσο οι διαμαρτυρίες συνέβησαν τη νύχτα. Η αστυνομία επιτέθηκε έντονα στους διαδηλωτές με δακρυγόνα, και ο κόσμος είχε τα πρόσωπα τους καλυμμένα – με μάσκες λόγω της πανδημίας covid – 19 και με μαντήλια λόγω της ρίψης των δακρυγόνων, των κρότων λάμψης και τον βαρύ καπνό που προερχόταν από τη φωτιά.

Ο θάνατος μιας 47χρονης γυναίκας από το Ιράκ, ήταν ο λόγος που ξεκίνησαν οι διαδηλώσεις στο καμπ της ΒΙΑΛ. Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, πέθανε είτε από καρδιακή προσβολή είτε από απόφραξη. Βρισκόταν στο νοσοκομείο, δύο ημέρες πριν με βραδυκαρδία και αρρυθμίες. Την έλεγξαν για covid – 19 και της έδωσαν φάρμακα. Μόλις επέστρεψε πίσω στη ΒΙΑΛ, ήταν κλειδωμένη σε ένα από τα καινούρια κοντέινερ έξω από το καμπ, που χρησιμοποιούνταν ως χώροι απομόνωσης, και κατέληξε να παθαίνει κρίση πανικού. Ο σύζυγος της την βρήκε νεκρή στο κοντέινερ. Εκείνη την περίοδο, περίπου 7000 άτομα διέμεναν στο καμπ της ΒΙΑΛ, που έχει σχεδιαστεί μόνο για 1000 άτομα.

Οι περισσότεροι από τους διαμένοντες μένουν σε μία άτυπη περιοχή γύρω από το καμπ σε καλύβες με άθλιες συνθήκες υγιεινής. Τα 15 άτομα συνελήφθησαν κατά το πρώτο κύμα της πανδημίας του COVID – 19, μία εποχή που επικρατούσε τεράστια ανασφάλεια για το πως η πανδημία θα επηρεάσει τους διαμένοντας στο καμπ.

Οι ελληνικές και ευρωπαϊκές αρχές που διαχειρίζονται τα καμπ, αντέδρασαν κυρίως προσπαθώντας να βάλουν σε καραντίνα τους διαμένοντες επιβάλλοντας αυστηρές απαγορεύσεις και πρόστιμα. Ενώ οι άνθρωποι δεν μπορούσαν να φύγουν από το καμπ, κανένα μέτρο προστασίας δεν λήφθηκε μέσα στα καμπ, κάνοντας τους ανθρώπους να αισθάνονται ακόμη πιο απομονωμένοι. Μετά τον θάνατο της Ιρακινής, ο φόβος αυτός μετατράπηκε σε διαμαρτυρία.

Κανείς δεν έχει θεωρηθεί υπεύθυνος για τον θάνατο της γυναίκας στο καμπ της ΒΙΑΛ και όλους τους υπόλοιπους θανάτους που δεν γνωρίζουμε μέσα στα καμπς όπως και για τα βάσανα που έχουν υποστεί αυτοί οι άνθρωποι εκεί μέσα.

Αντ’αυτού 15 άτομα επιλέχθηκαν σε μία τελείως τυχαία βάση, για να τιμωρηθούν για την καταστροφή των εγκαταστάσεων του καμπ. Έχουν ήδη τιμωρηθεί χωρίς καμία δικαστική διαδικασία, έχοντας κριθεί ήδη προφυλακιστέοι εδώ και ένα χρόνο και δύο μήνες. Το δικαστήριο έχει αναβληθεί δύο φορές λόγω της πανδημίας, είναι η τρίτη φορά που μεταφέρονται με χειροπέδες στο αστυνομικό τμήμα Μυτιλήνης.

Αν και δεν υπάρχει κανένα αξιόπιστο στοιχείο, φοβόμαστε ότι θα καταδικαστούν ως ο αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος για τις ευρωπαϊκές και ελληνικές πολιτικές μετανάστευσης, δημιουργώντας αφόρητες συνθήκες ζωής στα καμπς στα ελληνικά νησιά. Είδαμε πως καταδικάστηκαν οι 6 κατηγορούμενοι για την Μόρια,
σε 5 και 10 χρόνια φυλάκισης αντίστοιχα, ενώ η διαδικασία ήταν γεμάτη κενά και ο μόνος μάρτυρας κατηγορίας δεν εμφανίστηκε καν στο δικαστήριο. Έχουμε κουραστεί να βλέπουμε αυτή την παράλογη καταστροφή των ανθρώπινων ζωών.

Η ποινικοποίηση των διαμαρτυριών των μεταναστ(ρι)ών δεν μπορούν να συνεχίσουν. Απελευθέρωση στους 15 της ΒΙΑΛ.

Freiheit für die Vial 15!

Am Dienstag, den 22. Juni, findet der Prozess gegen die Vial 15 vor dem Gericht in Mytilini auf der Insel Lesbos statt. 15 Menschen aus verschiedenen Ländern werden beschuldigt, in der Nacht vom 18. auf den 19. April 2020 im EU-Hotspot-Camp Vial auf der Insel Chios randaliert und Feuer gelegt zu haben. Die Festnahmen folgten Protesten gegen die unmenschlichen Bedingungen im Lager Vial, nachdem eine Frau in einem Isolationscontainer gestorben war.

Den 15 Angeklagten wird Brandstiftung mit Gefährdung von Menschenleben, Zerstörung von Privateigentum, Körperverletzung und Bildung einer kriminellen Vereinigung vorgeworfen. Wie bereits in vielen vorausgegangenen Fällen, wie z.B. kürzlich im Prozess gegen die Moria 6, wurden auch sie ohne stichhaltige Ermittlungen und auf der Basis zweifelhafter Indizien verhaftet.

Der Großteil der Angeklagten wurden erst im Verlauf der folgenden 3 Wochen nach dem Feuer verhaftet. Der einzige „Beweis“, der gegen die meisten von ihnen vorliegt, ist die Aussage eines Polizeibeamten, der sie in der Polizeidatenbank aufgrund ihres Aussehens, Größe und Frisur erkannt haben will. Die Festnahmen stützen sich auf diese zweifelhafte Grundlage, obwohl die Proteste bei Nacht stattfanden und die Demonstrant*innen ihre Gesichter mit Schals und Masken bedeckt hatten – einerseits als COVID-19 Prävention, andererseits aufgrund der Rauchentwicklung im Lager und um sich vor dem massiven Tränengasbeschuss durch die Polizei zu schützen. Nur wenige der Angeklagten wurden noch am selben Tag des Feuers verhaftet, einzig aufgrund der Tatsache, dass sie Feuerzeuge oder Messer bei sich trugen – Gegenstände, die in einem Camp alltäglich sind und zum Kochen und Rauchen benötigt werden.

Zum Zeitpunkt der Festnahmen lebten etwa 7000 Menschen in Vial, einem Lager, dessen Infrastruktur nur für 1000 Menschen ausgelegt ist. Die meisten Menschen sind gezwungen in einem inoffiziellen Bereich in Zelten oder selbstgebauten Hütten unter fatalen hygienischen Bedingungen leben. Die 15 Personen wurden während der ersten Welle der COVID-19-Pandemie verhaftet, einer Zeit großer Unsicherheit und Unklarheit, wie sich das Virus auf die Situation der Lagerbewohner*innen auswirken würde. Die griechischen und europäischen Behörden, die die Lager verwalten, reagierten auf die Pandemie vor allem mit Versuchen die Bewohner*innen der Lager durch strenge Ausgangssperren und Geldstrafen unter Quarantäne zu stellen. Während die Menschen über Monate im Lager eingesperrt waren, wurden kaum medizinische oder hygienische Vorkehrungen getroffen, wodurch sie sich noch mehr im Stich gelassen fühlten.

Nach dem Tod einer 47-jährigen Frau aus dem Irak eskalierte die Situation und Proteste brachen aus. Die Frau starb Berichten zufolge an Herz- oder Lungenversagen und war zwei Tage zuvor mit Bradykardie und Herzrhythmusstörungen ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert, auf Covid-19 getestet und mit Medikamenten versorgt worden.  Nach ihrer Rückkehr ins Lager Vial wurde sie als Isolationsmaßnahme in einem der neuen Container außerhalb des Lagers eingesperrt und erlitt eine Panikattacke. Ihr Ehemann fand sie später tot im Container.

Niemand wurde bisher für den Tod der Frau im Lager Vial zur Rechenschaft gezogen. Auch die zahlreichen anderen bekannten und unbekannten Todesfälle in den griechischen Lagern und die Todesfälle auf See kamen nicht zur Anklage.

Stattdessen sollen nun 15 Personen, die aufgrund fadenscheiniger Beweisgrundlagen inhaftiert wurden, für die Zerstörung der Lagereinrichtungen den Kopf hinhalten und als Schuldige markiert werden. Bereits seit einem Jahr und zwei Monaten werden sie in Untersuchungshaft festgehalten. Zweimal wurde die Gerichtsverhandlung wegen der aktuellen COVID-19 Situation verschoben. Bereits zum dritten Mal werden sie nun für den Prozess in Handschellen zur Polizeistation in Mytilini gebracht.

Obwohl es keinerlei glaubwürdige Beweise für die Schuld der Angeklagten gibt, ist zu befürchten, dass sie verurteilt werden. Sie werden als Sündenböcke für die europäische und griechische Migrationspolitik kriminalisiert, die unerträgliche Lebensbedingungen in Lagern auf den griechischen Inseln schafft. Auch in den kürzlich stattgefundenen Prozessen gegen die Moria 6 mussten wir erleben, wie die Angeklagten in einem politischen Schauprozess voller Fehler und mit mangelhaften Beweisen zu fünf bzw. zehn Jahren Haft verurteilt wurden.

Wir sind es leid, diese sinnlose Zerstörung von Menschenleben mit anzusehen. Die Kriminalisierung der Proteste von Migrant*innen muss aufhören.

Das Verbrechen ist nicht, dass Vial und Moria in Flammen standen, das Verbrechen ist die Existenz dieser Camps!

Freiheit für die Vial 15!

Libertà per i Vial 15!

Martedì 22 giugno, presso il tribunale di Mytilini, nell’isola di Lesbo, si svolgerà il processo contro i Vial 15. 15 persone provenienti da diversi paesi sono state accusate di disordini e incendi all’interno dell’hotspot Vial sull’isola di Chios nella notte dal 18 al 19 aprile 2020. Gli arresti hanno seguito le proteste contro le condizioni disumane del campo di Vial dopo che una donna è morta in un container di isolamento.

I 15 imputati sono accusati di incendio doloso e rischio per la vita umana, distruzione di proprietà privata, lesioni personali e di essere parte di un gruppo criminale. Come abbiamo osservato in molti casi, vedi il recente tribunale contro i Moria 6, gli imputati sono stati arrestati senza un’indagine approfondita.

Solo due persone sono state arrestate il giorno stesso e semplicemente per il fatto di avere con sé accendini o coltelli, oggetti comuni in un campo e necessari per cucinare e fumare. Le altre 13 persone sono invece state arrestate tra i due e i venti giorni dopo l’incendio. L’unica prova contro la maggior parte di loro è un agente di polizia, che ha affermato di averli riconosciuti nel database della polizia sul suo computer in base al loro aspetto, principalmente all’altezza e al colore dei capelli. Tuttavia, le proteste sono avvenute di notte. La polizia ha attaccato pesantemente i manifestanti con gas lacrimogeni e le persone avevano il volto coperto – con maschere a causa della pandemia di Covid-19 e sciarpe a causa dei lacrimogeni e del fumo pesante proveniente dal fuoco.

La manifestazione nel campo di Vial è nata in seguito alla morte di una donna irachena di 47 anni. È morta, secondo quanto riferito, per un attacco di cuore o per un’ostruzione. Era stata in ospedale due giorni prima con bradicardia e aritmie. L’avevano sottoposta ad un test Covid-19 e prescritto dei farmaci. Una volta tornata a Vial è stata rinchiusa in uno dei nuovi container fuori dal campo, per precauzione in isolamento, dove ha avuto un attacco di panico. Suo marito l’ha trovata morta nel container.

A quel tempo, circa 7000 persone vivevano a Vial, un campo la cui infrastruttura è progettata solo per 1000 persone. La maggior parte delle persone vive in aree non ufficiali, in capanne autonomamente costruite e in rifugi con condizioni igieniche fatali. Le 15 persone sono state arrestate durante la prima ondata della pandemia di COVID-19, un periodo di grande insicurezza su come il virus avrebbe colpito i residenti del campo. Le autorità greche ed europee che gestiscono i campi hanno reagito cercando di mettere in quarantena i residenti nei campi attraverso rigidi coprifuoco e multe. Non solo non era possibile lasciare il campo ma al suo interno non è stata presa quasi alcuna precauzione medica o igienica, facendo sentire le persone ancora più abbandonate. Dopo la morte della donna irachena, la paura si è trasformata in protesta.

Nessuno è stato ritenuto responsabile per la morte delle donne nel campo di Vial né per tutte le morti sconosciute nei campi né per la sofferenza della gente. Al contrario, 15 persone selezionate in base a criteri sospetti dovrebbero ora essere punite per la distruzione delle strutture del campo. Sono già stati puniti senza alcuna procedura giudiziaria, essendo stati trattenuti in custodia cautelare per un anno e due mesi. Il processo è stato rinviato due volte a causa del COVID-19, è la terza volta che vengono trasferiti in manette alla stazione di polizia di Mitilene.

Sebbene non vi siano prove credibili, temiamo che vengano condannati e criminalizzati come capri espiatori delle politiche migratorie europee e greche, creando condizioni di vita insopportabili nei campi delle isole greche. Abbiamo visto come i Moria 6 siano stati condannati a 5 e 10 anni di reclusione, nonostante la procedura fosse piena di vizi e l’unico testimone dell’accusa non si fosse presentato in tribunale.

Siamo stanchi di assistere a questa distruzione insensata della vita delle persone. La criminalizzazione delle proteste dei migranti non può continuare così.

Il crimine non è che Vial e Moria siano stati bruciati, il crimine è la loro esistenza!

Libertà per i Vial 15!

¡Libertad para los 15 de Vial!

El martes 22 de junio tendrá lugar el juicio contra los 15 de Vial en el tribunal de Mitilene, Lesbos. 15 personas de diferentes países han sido acusadas por los disturbios e incendios ocurridos en el campo de Vial, parte del sistema de “hotspots” diseñado por la Unión Europea, y situado en la isla de Quíos, durante la noche del 18 al 19 de abril de 2020. Las detenciones se produjeron tras las protestas contra las condiciones inhumanas este campo, después de que una mujer muriera en un contenedor de aislamiento.

Las 15 personas están acusadas de incendio con riesgo para la vida humana, destrucción de propiedad privada, causar lesiones a personas y constitución de un grupo criminal. Como hemos visto en muchos casos, como el reciente juicio contra los 6 de Moria, estas personas fueron detenidas sin una investigación en profundidad.

La única prueba contra la mayoría de ellas es la declaración de un agente de policía que afirmó haberlas reconocido a partir de una base de datos policial. Este reconocimiento se basó en elementos de su aspecto, como la altura o el color del pelo. Sin embargo, las protestas ocurrieron por la noche, y la policía había atacado con dureza a los manifestantes con gases lacrimógenos. Por lo tanto la gente tenía sus rostros cubiertos, no solo con máscaras debido a la pandemia de Covid-19, sino también con bufandas, para protegerse de las bombas de gas lacrimógeno y el fuerte humo procedente del incendio. Algunas pocas de entre las personas acusadas fueron detenidas el mismo día por el simple hecho de llevar mecheros o cuchillos, objetos necesarios para cocinar y fumar, y por lo tanto habituales en un campo como el de Vial. Las otras 13 personas fueron detenidas entre dos y veinte días después del incendio.

En ese momento en Vial vivían alrededor de 7.000 personas, a pesar de que el campo está diseñado para 1.000. La mayor parte de las personas viven en una zona informal en chozas autoconstruidas, y las condiciones higiénicas son potencialmente mortales. Las 15 personas fueron detenidas durante la primera oleada de la pandemia de COVID-19, un periodo en el que existía una gran inseguridad sobre cómo afectaría el virus a los residentes del campo. Las autoridades griegas y europeas, responsables de la gestión de los campos, reaccionaron principalmente intentando poner en cuarentena a los residentes de los campos mediante estrictos toques de queda y multas. Mientras las personas no podían salir del campo, apenas se tomaron precauciones médicas o higiénicas dentro, lo que hizo que la gente se sintiera aún más abandonada.

Tras la muerte de una mujer iraquí de 47 años, la situación se agravó y estallaron las protestas. Al parecer la mujer murió de un ataque al corazón o de una obstrucción. Había estado en el hospital dos días antes con bradicardia y arritmias. Le hicieron la prueba de COVID-19 y le dieron medicación. Al regresar al campo de Vial la encerraron en uno de los nuevos contenedores a las afuera del campo, aislándola como medida de precaución. Durante el encierro tuvo un ataque de pánico y su marido la encontró muerta en el contenedor.

Nadie ha rendido cuentas por la muerte de esta mujer en el campo de Vial, ni por ninguna de las muertes que no se conocen, dentro de los campos pero también en el mar.  Nadie rinde cuentas por el sufrimiento de las personas que viven en estos campos. En lugar de eso, 15 personas seleccionadas a partir de una base turbia deben ser castigadas ahora por la destrucción de las instalaciones del campo. Ellas ya han sido castigados sin ningún procedimiento judicial, estando en prisión preventiva durante un año y dos meses. El tribunal ha sido aplazado dos veces por culpa de COVID-19, y es la tercera vez que son trasladadas esposadas a la comisaría de Mitilene.

Aunque no hay pruebas creíbles, tememos que estas personas sean condenadas y criminalizadas como chivos expiatorios de las políticas migratorias europeas y griegas, que crean condiciones de vida insoportables en los campos de las islas griegas. Hemos visto como los 6 de Moria fueron condenados a 5 y 10 años de prisión, aunque el procedimiento estuvo lleno de irregularidades y el único testigo de la acusación no compareció ante el tribunal.

Estamos cansadas de ver esta destrucción sin sentido de la vida de las personas. La criminalización de las protestas de las personas migrantes no puede continuar así. El crimen no es que Vial y Moria hayan sido quemados, ¡el crimen es su existencia!

¡Liberen a los 15 de Vial!

آزادی برای ویال 15!

روز سه شنبه مورخ ۲۲ جون، محاکمه ای به علیه ویال 15 در دادگاه میتیلینی، جزیره لسوس اتفاق خواهد. ۱۵ فرد به تاریخ ۱۸-۱۹ اپریل سال ۲۰۲۰ متهم به شورش و به آتش کشیدن کمپ ویال اتحادیه اروپا در جزیره خیوس شدند. این دستگیری ها تظاهرات علیه شرایط غیر انسانی کمپ ویال بعد از مرگ زنها داخل کانیترهای ایزوله شده را دربر داشت.

۱۵ فرد متهم به آتش سوزی و خطر برای زندگی انسانها، تخریب ملک شخصی، زخمی کردن مردم و تشکیل یک گروه جنایت کار شده است. همانطور که ما دیدیم در موارد زیادی مثل دادگاه علیه موریا 6, آنها بدون کدام تحقیقات دقیقی دستگیر شده اند.

تنها مدرکی که علیه اکثر متهمان وجود دارد اینست که افسر پولیس ادعا کرده که آنها را از روی شکل ظاهری مثل قد و رنگ موی از داخل داده های کامپیوترشناسایی کرده است. اگرچه، این تظاهرات در شب اتفاق افتاده است. پولیس به شدت به تظاهرات کننده گان همراه با گاز اشک آور حمله کرد و مردم صورت شان را با ماسک بخاطر کوید 19 و دستمال بخاطر گاز اشک آور و دود زیادی که از آتش برخواسته بود  پوشیده بودند. فقط تعداد اندکی همان روز بخاطر داشتن چاقو و فندک که اشیا عادی داخل کمپ  که بخاطر آشپزی و سیگار کشیدن است، دستگیر شدند. اکثر متهمان بین دو تا بیست روز بعد از آتش سوزی دستگیر شدند.

و در عین زمان، حدود ۷۰۰۰ نفر داخل ویال زندگی میکردند، کمپی که فقط برای  ۱۰۰۰ طراحی شده بود. بیشتر مردم در یک منطقه غیر رسمی در کلبه ها و پناهگاه های خودساخته تحت شرایط مهلک بهداشتی زندگی می کنند. این 15 نفر جریان موج اول بیماری همه گی دستگیر شدند، یک دوره ناامن در مورد تأثیر ویروس کوید 19 بر ساکنان کمپ. مقامات یونانی و اروپایی که مدیریت این کمپ ها را بر عهده داشتند، عمدتاً با تلاش برای قرنطینه کردن ساکنان این کمپ ها از طریق مقررات منع رفت و آمد و جریمه های شدید واکنش نشان دادند. در حالی که مردم قادر به ترک اردوگاه نبودند، به سختی اقدامات پزشکی یا بهداشتی در اردوگاه ها انجام می شد و باعث می شد مردم حتی بیشتر حس ترک شده گی را داشته باشند.

پس از مرگ یک زن ۴۷ ساله از عراق، اوضاع بالا گرفت و اعتراضات آغاز شد. گفته می شود این زن در اثر حمله قلبی یا انسداد جان خود را از دست داده است. وی دو روز قبل به دلیل برادیکاردی و آریتمی به بیمارستان رفته بود و در آنجا برای کوید 19 آزمایش شد و دارو دریافت کرد. پس از بازگشت به ویال، وی بخاطر احتیاط در یکی از کانتینرهای جدید خارج از کمپ حبس شد و دچار حمله وحشت شد. شوهرش او را در کانتینر مرده پیدا کرد.

هیچ کس در مورد مرگ زنان در کمپ ویال و تمام مرگ های ناشناخته در اردوگاه ها و دریا و همچنین درد و رنج مردم پاسخگو نبوده است. در عوض, ۱۵ نفری که براساس شواهد ضعیف انتخاب شده اند، اکنون به دلیل تخریب امکانات کمپ مجازات می شوند.  آنها قبلاً بدون هیچگونه دادگاهی مجازات شده اند و به مدت یک سال و دو ماه در بازداشت موقت به سر می برند. دادگاه به دلیل کوید ۱۹ دو بار به تعویق افتاد، این سومین بار است که آنها با دستبند به ایستگاه پلیس میتیلینی منتقل می شوند.

گرچه هیچ مدرک معتبری در دست نیست، اما ما می ترسیم که آنها به عنوان قربانی سیاست های مهاجرت اروپا و یونان محکوم و جرم شناخته شوند و شرایط زندگی غیرقابل تحملی را در کمپ های جزایر یونان ایجاد کنند. ما دیده ایم که چگونه موریا 6 به ۵ و ۱۰ سال حبس محکوم شده اند، با وجود اینکه این روند پر از نقص بود و تنها شاهد این اتهام در دادگاه حاضر نشد.

ما از تماشای این نابودی بی معنی زندگی مردم خسته شده ایم.  جرم انگاری اعتراضات مهاجران باید متوقف شود.

جرم این نیست که ویال و موریا سوخته باشند، جرم وجود آنهاست!

ویال 15 را آزاد کنید

 

[Press release from 26.4.2021] Scandalous sentencing of a Syrian refugee on the Greek island of Lesvos to 52 years imprisonment +++ Trial observers strongly criticise the criminalisation of flight

Press release from the initiatives “You Can‘t Evict Solidarity”, Christian Peacemaker Teams – Aegean Migrant Solidarity and borderline-europe, 26 April 2021
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Scandalous sentencing of a Syrian refugee on the Greek island of Lesvos to 52 years imprisonment +++ Trial observers strongly criticise the criminalisation of flight
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On Friday 23 April 2021, the trial of K. S., a young man who fled Syria, took place in Mytilini on the Greek island of Lesvos. He was sentenced to 52 years imprisonment for “illegal entry” and “facilitating illegal entry”. Trial observers from the initiatives “You Can‘t Evict Solidarity”, Christian Peacemaker Teams – Aegean Migrant Solidarity and borderline-europe consider the verdict a scandal. They criticise the unfair trial and once again demand the immediate release of the accused.
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As he described in the trial, the defendant K. S. fled with his family from the civil war in Syria to Turkey. There, he refused to participate in the Turkish military operation in the civil war in Libya and was subsequently imprisoned and tortured. He managed to flee further to the EU with his wife and three small children. When the family reached the Greek island of Chios in early March 2020 they were denied the right to asylum for one month, like all people arriving in Greece at that time. The background, which was also described in testimony from CPT – Aegean Migrant Solidarity at the trial, is that the Greek state had unlawfully suspended the right to asylum as part of a political dispute between Turkey and the EU, and systematically brought criminal charges of “illegal entry” against migrants seeking protection in Europe. In addition, upon arrival, K.S. was falsely accused of steering the boat in which he and his family arrived on Chios and additionally charged with “facilitating illegal entry”(human smuggling) and “provoking a shipwreck”(endangering life).
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A trial observer explains about the background of the charges: “The filing of such charges against migrants arriving on the Greek islands, allegedly identified as boat drivers, has been a systematic approach of the Greek state for several years. It is based on the absurd notion that anyone who drives an inflatable boat carrying people seeking protection is a smuggler. Often the accused are themselves protection seekers and have been coerced into driving the boat. In practice, prosecuting “smugglers” means accusing someone from an arriving inflatable boat of driving the boat, whether they were or not. They are usually arrested on the spot without sufficient evidence and held in pre-trial detention for months. When their case finally comes to trial, their trials last an average of only 38 minutes, and they are sentenced to long prison terms, in some cases over 100 years in prison with very large fines. For the charges brought against K.S., the average sentence is 93 years. These proceedings are not conducted fairly or according to the rule of law. We know of hundreds of such cases of people in Greek prisons on these charges, as a report by CPT – Aegean Migrant Solidarity, borderline-europe and Deportation Monitoring Aegean shows (1). Most recently, last year, among others, Amir and Razouli, two refugees, were sentenced to 50 years imprisonment in such a trial and are now in Greek prison awaiting their appeal hearing in March 2022 (2).”
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After more than a year of pre-trial detention and after the trial had been postponed at short notice until Friday, 23 April 2021, the defendant K.S. was sentenced in just a few hours and in camera for “unauthorized entry” and “facilitating illegal entry” to 52 years imprisonment. He was sentenced to 10 years plus one year for each person on the boat. In addition, the court fined him 242,000 euros. This high sentence was imposed even though he was acquitted of the charges of “endangering human life” and “disobedience”. 
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K.S. was judged not on his guilt for the particular “crimes“ for which he was accused, but as a proxy to condemn migration to Europe in general. K.S. was subject to derogatory statements by the court and jury, being questioned about his Muslim faith and asked why he did not stay in Syria to fight for his country. The trial was riddled with major irregularities. For example, the prosecution’s case was based on contradictory lists of the number of people on the boat. The prosecution’s main witness, a coastguard officer, testified in great detail, but he made no statement on the important question of whether he had seen the defendant driving the boat. In turn, the defendant’s wife testified as a witness and confirmed that he had not driven the boat. When the coastguard officer stated at the end of his testimony that K.S. should be released because he was fleeing a warzone, the prosecutor replied that he could have stayed in Turkey – unbelievable, as K.S. had been imprisoned and tortured there. 
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His lawyers from the Legal Center Lesvos appealed immediately after the verdict. Until then, K.S. must spend the time until the appeal hearing (presumably in about a year) back in the infamous Korydallos prison on the Greek mainland. 
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Johannes Körner from the campaign “You can‘t evict Solidarity” said about the verdict: 
    
“We as well as the initiatives CPT – Aegean Migrant Solidarity and borderline.europe will continue to support the accused in solidarity. We call on Greece and the European Union to immediately end the arbitrary detention of migrants and for the acquittal and immediate release of the accused. In addition, the pending comparable cases must be dropped, or trials must take place elsewhere than the biased court of Mytiline.”
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A member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams – Aegean Migrant Solidarity added:
    
“Migrants seeking sanctuary in Europe who are accused of the crime of facilitating illegal entry cannot expect to receive a fair trial in Mytilene court. K.S. was convicted with no evidence positively identifying him. This is indicative of a justice system catering to the vocal section of local society seeking a scapegoat for migration to the island.”
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Press contact:
Johannes Körner: cantevictsolidarity@riseup.net
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[Lesvos] Outrageous court decision – Two people arbitrarily convicted for setting fire to Moria camp

Justice for the Moria 6!

For a detailed outline of the trial procedure see post of the lawyers by Legal Centre Lesvos: https://legalcentrelesvos.org/2021/03/09/justice-for-the-moria-6/

On 9th of March 2021, A.A. and M.H. were found guilty for “arson with risk to human life” and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, of which they will have to serve two and a half years in Avlona prison on the Greek mainland.

The two young men from Afghanistan had come to Lesvos seeking asylum as unaccompanied minors and were 17 years old at the time of their arrest. They were arrested after Moria camp burnt to the ground on 8th of September 2020 and held for six moths in pre-trial detention.

The court procedure was permeated with irregularities and failed the core standards of fairness – it was obvious that the two defendants had been determined guilty long before the procedure had even started. It is clear that both of them have been used in a politicized game, made to serve as a scapegoat for the events on 8th September, when the camp burned down.  Their conviction should distract from the disastrous situation in the European hotspot camps and the failure of the Greek state to provide adequate protection for refugees that became once again obvious through the fire.

During the trial supporters and friends were sent away by the police, fined or threatened with further repression. For “security reasons” they were not allowed to enter the court room – allegedly in order to protect the identity of defendants in the juvenile court – while 5-7 police officers were constantly present. The supporters were also harrassed while waiting in front of the court. Some were fined 300 Euros for their mere presence. The day before, when the trial was supposed to start but then postponed, one person was even taken to the police station and had his personal belongings searched.

Many people had come from the new Kara Tepe camp to testify in support of the defendants in order to give an alibi, however only two defense witnesses were allowed to participate in the trial. Meanwhile, the prosecution brought 17 witnesses to testify against the defendants. They did not present any credible evidence against them. 

The core witness – an Afghan community leader – who had caused their arrest through his testimony failed to show up at the trial and could not be located by the authorities. Nevertheless, his written testimony was considered credible.

Most of the other witnesses only testified about personal losses caused by the fire that were not focused on positively identifying the defendants. Only two police officers claimed to have identified the defendants based on a video showing two people with similar clothes from behind. However, the officers contradicted themselves in their testimonies, describing one of the defendants as “tiny and short” while he is in fact much taller than the testifying police officer himself. 

In the end, the defendants were at least aquitted of the charge of ‘membership of a criminal group’ – which could have together with the charge of “arson with risk to human life” resulted in a sentence of up to 15 years. Their lawyers from Legal Centre Lesvos will also appeal the conviction. 

Nevertheless, the conviction of the two is another outragous example of how people on the move are criminalized in order to divert attention from those who bear responsibility for the existance of a camp such as Moria and now its successor Kara Tepe. We are sick and tired of watching one case after another of migrants being arbitrarily arrested, beaten, humilitated, detained and sentenced to jail by the so-called “justice system”. This game is as transparent and ridiculous as it is violent, racist and disgusting. Those who have to pay with their lives are the people who enact their right to freedom of movement and are therefore disenfranchised and punished. 

As on so many occasions before, after following court procedures against people on the move, we are sad and angry. The 9th of March was a terrible day for anyone struggling for justice and equality. But we have to keep fighting. Four more people accused for setting Moria on fire will probably have their trials soon. The two sentenced people, A.A. and M.H., will appeal the decision. 

We have to spread the news, scream in the face of those responsible: those who created the hotspot camps and the EU-Turkey deal, those who keep the camps running and those who profit from this system of racism and inequality.

Freedom for the Moria 6!

[Lesvos] Freedom for the imprisoned Moria 6 – Greek state opens trial against two of the six accused after the fire in Moria 2020

Freedom for the imprisoned Moria 6 – Greek state opens trial against two of the six accused after the fire in Moria 2020

Λευτεριά στους 6 φυλακισμένους για τη φωτιά στη Μόρια – Ξεκίνησε η δίκη δύο από τους έξι κατηγορούμενους για την πυρκαγιά στη Μόρια το 2020

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Today, on 8th of March, the court of Mytilini, Lesvos, opened the trial against two young men from Afghanistan. The two arrived to Greece as unaccompanied minors, and were only 17 at the time of their arrest. They are part of the group of six people accused of ‘arson with risk to human life’, who were arrested after the events of September 8, 2020, when Moria camp burned to the ground.

The two defendants, who were arrested as minors, have by now been in pre-trial detention for nearly six months – the maximum time for pretrial detention of minors. The court mobilized several witnesses for the trial, among them the camp management, the police and residents of Moria village. Monitoring the trial is made impossible, because of heavy police presence at the court, and strict and disproportionate Covid-19 movement restrictions. Furthermore, because the defendants were minors at the time of their arrest, their trial is closed to the public.

The trial officially started today, but was immediately interrupted because one of the defendants is ill and suffering from fever. It was only postponed until tomorrow.

So far, the public prosecutor’s office has not presented any credible evidence against any of the six defendants that suggests they were at all involved in the desperate act of resistance of setting the multiple fires which ultimately destroyed the inhumane European Hotspot, Moria camp. However, it seems the authorities are intent on scapegoating the Moria 6 for Europe’s deadly border violence.

There is only one witness against all 6 of the defendants – one of the then Afghan community leaders in Moria Camp. It has been a common practice of the police in Lesvos to coerce community leaders into providing information, through threats of arrest, or in exchange for advantages such as being allowed to leave the island. The 6 defendants are all part of the Hazara Shia minority, which has historically been subjected to violent persecution and systematic discrimination by both Tajic and Pashtu Sunni majorities, along class, race, and religious lines. The only witness against them is Pashtu.

Five of the accused were minors at the time of their arrest, and the sixth was only 18. However, three of the five minors had been unlawfully registered as adults when they arrived in Greece. These three presented original national identification documents to the court following their arrest, showing their actual age, and requested age assessments by medical professionals. Despite this, the documents were rejected as fraudulent, the state medical examiner assessed them as adults, and they continue to be treated as adults by the Greek state.

The two defendants facing trial tomorrow are the two who were recognised as minors at the time of their arrest.

It is likely that the facts will not matter in court. The Greek state is determined to find someone guilty for burning down Europe’s pilot project of the “hot spot” model of detention, confinement on the islands in hellish conditions, and deterence. State authorities had already determined their guilt long before any trial took place. Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, in an interview with CNN on 16 September 2020, stated “the camp was burned by six Afghani refugees who have been arrested.” In response to a question about the welfare of unaccompanied minors made homeless by the fire, Mitarakis responded by saying that two minors had been arrested alongside four others according to police footage for causing the fire and that “the reason they caused the fire was to blackmail the Greek and other governments to move them out of Moria.”

In September 2020, pictures of the burning camp were circulated in international media, drawing attention once again to the cruel and inhuman treatment people are subject to in Greek’s refugee camps. The fire became a symbol of people’s resistance to this treatment and confinement. It not only brought to light the cruelty of the European border regime but also exposed the Greek state’s disastrous failure to provide protection to migrants, as well as its failure to fulfill its role as “shield of Europe” that the EU Commissioner had assigned to Greece in March 2020.

Over the years, numerous criminal prosecutions in Lesvos have shown that the Greek state will crush any resistance to Europe’s border regime through collective punishment, using the police and courts to arbitrarily arrest, then convict and sentence migrants to long prison sentences, without any evidence, following any protest against state opression. For example, in the summer of 2017, the Moria 35 were violently and arbitrarily arrested on the basis of racial profiling after months of escalating protests and collective organising in Mytilene and inside Moria camp. In their trial, held nine months later in the Mixed Jury Court of Chios, 32 of the 35 were found guilty of causing dangerous bodily harm and given a 26-month suspended prison sentence. In a similar case of the Moria 8, those arbitrarily arrested following a fire in Moria, were eventually acquitted, but 1 of the 8 had previously been held in pre-trial detention for months.

We will not accept that the lives of six young people will be destroyed! We will not let the state and media treat them as scapegoats for the brutality and cruelty of the European border policies of confinement! We demand freedom for all imprisoned and accused!

Solidarity with the Moria 6! Your struggle is our struggle!

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Λευτεριά στους 6 φυλακισμένους για τη φωτιά στη Μόρια – Ξεκίνησε η δίκη δύο από τους έξι κατηγορούμενους για την πυρκαγιά στη Μόρια το 2020

Σήμερα, 8 Μαρτίου 2021, στο δικαστήριο της Μυτιλήνης ξεκίνησε η δίκη δύο νεαρών άνδρων από το Αφγανιστάν. Οι δύο τους είχαν φτάσει στην Ελλάδα ως ασυνόδευτοι ανήλικοι και ήταν μόλις 17 ετών τη στιγμή της σύλληψής τους. Είναι οι δύο από τους νεαρούς που κατηγορούνται για «εμπρησμό με κίνδυνο για την ανθρώπινη ζωή», οι οποίοι συνελήφθησαν μετά τα γεγονότα της 8ης Σεπτεμβρίου 2020, όταν το camp της Μόριας καταστράφηκε από φωτιά.

Οι δύο κατηγορούμενοι, οι οποίοι συνελήφθησαν ως ανήλικοι, είναι προφυλακισμένοι εδώ και σχεδόν έξι μήνες — το μέγιστο επιτρεπόμενο χρονικό διάστημα προφυλάκισης ανηλίκων. Το δικαστήριο έχει κλητεύσει αρκετούς μάρτυρες για τη δίκη, μεταξύ των οποίων τη διοίκηση του στρατοπέδου, μπάτσους και κάτοικους του χωριού Μόρια. Η παρακολούθηση της δίκης δεν είναι εφικτή, λόγω της μεγάλης παρουσίας της αστυνομίας στο δικαστήριο και των αυστηρών και δυσανάλογων περιορισμών κίνησης με πρόσχημα τον κορονοϊό. Επιπλέον, επειδή οι κατηγορούμενοι ήταν ανήλικοι κατά τη σύλληψή τους, η δίκη τους είναι κλειστή για το κοινό.
Η δίκη ξεκίνησε επίσημα σήμερα, αλλά διακόπηκε αμέσως επειδή ένας από τους κατηγορούμενους είναι άρρωστος και έχει πυρετό. Αναβλήθηκε μόνο μέχρι αύριο.
Μέχρι στιγμής, η εισαγγελία δεν έχει παρουσιάσει αξιόπιστα αποδεικτικά στοιχεία εναντίον οποιουδήποτε από τους έξι κατηγορούμενους που να στοιχειοθετούν ότι συμμετείχαν με οποιονδήποτε τρόπο στην απεγνωσμένη πράξη αντίστασης των πολλαπλών εστιών φωτιάς που τελικά κατέστρεψαν το απάνθρωπο ευρωπαϊκό hotspot, το camp της Μόριας. Ωστόσο, φαίνεται ότι οι αρχές προτίθενται να χρησιμοποιήσουν τους 6 συλληφθέντες της Μόριας ως αποδιοπομπαίους τράγους έναντι της θανάσιμης βία της Ευρώπης στα σύνορά της.

Υπάρχει μόνο ένας μάρτυρας εναντίον και των 6 κατηγορουμένων: ένας από τους τότε ηγέτες της αφγανικής κοινότητας στο camp της Μόριας. Αποτελούσε κοινή πρακτική της αστυνομίας στη Λέσβο να πιέζει τους ηγέτες της κοινότητας να παρέχουν πληροφορίες, απειλώντας τους με σύλληψη, ή προσφέροντας ανταλλάγματα, όπως η δυνατότητα να φύγουν από το νησί [βλ.: https://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/09/02/police-coerce-community-leaders-to-turn-over-individuals-responsible-for-violence-in-moria-camp/]. Οι 6 κατηγορούμενοι ανήκουν όλοι τους στη σιιτική μειονότητα της φυλής Χαζαρά, η οποία ιστορικά έχει υποστεί βίαιες διώξεις και συστηματικές ταξικές, φυλετικές και θρησκευτικές διακρίσεις από τις κυρίαρχες σουνιτικές φυλές, τόσο από τους Τατζίκους όσο και από τους Παστού. Ο μόνος μάρτυρας εναντίον τους ανήκει στη φυλή Παστού.

Πέντε από τους κατηγορούμενους ήταν ανήλικοι τη στιγμή της σύλληψής τους και ο έκτος ήταν μόνο 18 ετών. Ωστόσο, τρεις από τους πέντε ανηλίκους είχαν καταχωριστεί παράνομα ως ενήλικες όταν έφτασαν στην Ελλάδα. Και οι τρεις τους, μετά τη σύλληψή τους, παρουσίασαν στο δικαστήριο ταξιδιωτικά έγγραφα που έδειχναν την πραγματική ηλικία τους και ζήτησαν αξιολογήσεις ηλικίας από επαγγελματίες του ιατρικού τομέα. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, τα έγγραφα απορρίφθηκαν ως πλαστά, ο κρατικός γιατρός που τους εξέτασε τους αξιολόγησε ως ενήλικες και εξακολουθούν να αντιμετωπίζονται ως ενήλικες από το ελληνικό κράτος.
Οι δύο κατηγορούμενοι που θα βρεθούν αύριο στο δικαστήριο είναι οι δύο που αναγνωρίστηκαν ως ανήλικοι κατά τη σύλληψή τους.
Είναι πιθανό ότι τα πραγματικά γεγονότα δεν θα έχουν καμία σημασία στο δικαστήριο. Το ελληνικό κράτος είναι αποφασισμένο να βρει κάποιον ένοχο για τη φωτιά που κατέστρεψε το πιλοτικό σχέδιο της Ευρώπης για το πρότυπο «hotspot» αποτροπής μέσω της κράτησης και αποκλεισμού στα νησιά κάτω από απάνθρωπες συνθήκες. Οι κρατικές αρχές είχαν ήδη καθορίσει την ενοχή τους πολύ πριν διεξαχθεί οποιαδήποτε δίκη. Ο υπουργός μετανάστευσης και ασύλου, Νότης Μηταράκης, σε συνέντευξή του στο CNN στις 16 Σεπτεμβρίου 2020, δήλωσε ότι «το στρατόπεδο κάηκε από έξι Αφγανούς πρόσφυγες που συνελήφθησαν». Η απάντησή του στην ερώτηση για τις συνθήκες ζωής των ασυνόδευτων ανηλίκων που έμειναν άστεγοι από την πυρκαγιά ήταν ότι δύο ανήλικοι συνελήφθησαν μαζί με τέσσερις άλλους σύμφωνα με τα βίντεο της αστυνομίας ως υπαίτιοι για την πυρκαγιά και ότι «ο λόγος που προκάλεσαν τη φωτιά ήταν για να εκβιαστούν οι ελληνικές και άλλες κυβερνήσεις και να τους απομακρύνουν από τη Μόρια» [βλ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52lWG65Wbq4].

Τον Σεπτέμβριο του 2020, φωτογραφίες από το καμένο camp κυκλοφόρησαν στα διεθνή μέσα ενημέρωσης, τραβώντας την προσοχή στις σκληρές και απάνθρωπες συνθήκες που υποχρώνονται να υποστούν οι έγκλειστοι στα στρατόπεδα προσφύγων της Ελλάδας. Η φωτιά έγινε σύμβολο της αντίστασης σε αυτήν τη μεταχείριση και τον εγκλεισμό. Δεν έφερε στο φως μόνο τη σκληρότητα του ευρωπαϊκού συνοριακού καθεστώτος, αλλά επίσης εξέθεσε την καταστροφική αποτυχία του ελληνικού κράτους να παρέχει προστασία στους μετανάστες, καθώς και το ρόλο της «ασπίδας της Ευρώπης» που είχε αναθέσει τον Μάρτιο 2020 στο ελληνικό κράτος η ευρωπαϊκη επιτροπή.

Τα τελευταία χρόνια, αλλεπάλληλες ποινικές διώξεις στη Λέσβο έχουν δείξει ότι το ελληνικό κράτος είναι αποφασισμένο να συντρίψει οποιαδήποτε αντίσταση στα σύνορα της Ευρώπης, εφαρμόζοντας πρακτικές συλλογικής ευθύνης, χρησιμοποιώντας την αστυνομία και τα δικαστήρια για να συλλάβει αυθαίρετα, να διώξει και να καταδικάσει σε μεγάλες ποινές φυλάκισης και χωρίς κανένα αποδεικτικό στοιχείο μετανάστες που διαμαρτυρήθηκαν ενάντια στην κρατική καταστολή. Για παράδειγμα, το καλοκαίρι του 2017, οι «35 της Μόριας» συνελήφθησαν βίαια και αυθαίρετα βάσει του φυλετικού τους προφίλ, μετά από μήνες κλιμακούμενων διαμαρτυριών και συλλογικής οργάνωσης στο camp της Μόριας και γενικότερα στο νησί αλλά. Στη δίκη τους, που διεξήχθη εννέα μήνες μετά τη σύλληψή τους στο Μεικτό Κακουργοδικείο της Χίου, 32 από τους 35 κρίθηκαν ένοχοι για πρόκληση επικίνδυνων σωματικών βλαβών και τιμωρήθηκαν με ποινή φυλάκισης 26 μηνών. Σε μια παρόμοια υπόθεση, αυτή των «8 της Μόριας», οι μετανάστες συνελήφθησαν αυθαίρετα μετά από μια πυρκαγιά στη Moria, τελικά αθωώθηκαν, αλλά ο ένας από τους 8 είχε προηγουμένως προφυλακιστεί για μήνες [βλ. http://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/11/29/the-case-of-the-moria-35-a-15-month-timeline-of-injustice-and-impunity/].

Δεν θα ανεχτούμε να καταστραφούν οι ζωές έξι νέων ανθρώπων! Δεν θα αφήσουμε το κράτος και τα μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης να τους χρησιμοποιήσουν ως εξιλαστήρια θύματα έναντι της βαρβαρότητας και της σκληρότητας των ευρωπαϊκών πολιτικών εγκλεισμού στα σύνορα!

Απαιτούμε λευτεριά για όλους τους φυλακισμένους και κατηγορούμενους!
Αλληλεγγύη με τους 6 της Μόριας! Ο αγώνας τους είναι και δικός μας!

The EU and Greek state are guilty – Solidarity with the imprisoned after the fire in Moria!

Moria has burned to the ground. The fires that destroyed Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesvos on September 8 put the world’s spotlight on the EU’s and the Greek state’s inhuman and racist policies at the European borders. The furious reaction of the Greek state to the desperate and self-empowering resistance of people – who were forced to live and suffer in the overcrowded camp in inhuman conditions for years – is again more repression and criminalization.

The events are closely entangled with the ever-worsening politics of incarceration. Since March, the camp has been under lockdown and people were trapped without the most basic supplies. In September, the Greek government concluded a contract with a private company to transform the entire camp into a prison surrounded by double barbed wire fencing and equipped with security gates – financed by the EU. The Covid-19 pandemic has been instrumentalized to push for these plans. Instead of providing appropriate health facilities, the Greek state tried to lock up thousands of people crammed together behind barbed wire. When Corona broke out under these circumstances, the camp started to burn.

Shortly after the fire, the Greek police arbitrarily arrested six people, five of them minors, all six of whom deny participation in setting the fires.

The six were charged with arson with danger to human life, a felony charge, and participation in a criminal group, a misdemeaner charge. On 21 September, all six were also ordered to await trial in pre-trial detention. (https://www.stonisi.gr/post/11598/profylakisteoi-kai-oi-6-kathgoroymenoi-gia-emprhsmo-toy-kyt-morias-realtime)

While 2 of the 6 are registered in Greece as minors, another 3 of the 6 are in fact children, but were registered as adults by FRONTEX when they entered Greece – a common practice within the hotspot camps. They were sent to pre-trial detention despite pre-trial detention being a remedy of last resort, and the state did not present any credible evidence against them in the hearing. One  prosecutor stated that it was the first time they had seen people who are officially recognized as minors sent into pre-trial detention in Mytilene.

The court based the charges on the testimony of a single witness also living in Moria camp. He identified the six young men by providing common first names to police, and identifying them through low-quality photographs taken  for the asylum procedure.

There are a number of reasons to believe that these accusations are not credible. On the one hand, the witness is a community leader within the camp and there have been several cases before in which community leaders were pushed by the authorities to testify against alleged criminals within protest movements and were then rewarded with the possibility to leave Lesvos Island for the mainland. (https://legalcentrelesvos.org/2018/09/02/police-coerce-community-leaders-to-turn-over-individuals-responsible-for-violence-in-moria-camp/) On the other hand, the accused are all from the Hazara community (contrary to the witness), an ethnic minority from Afghanistan that is systematically discriminated and persecuted in the country.

Above all, it is not the first time that randomly selected people are taken to court and accused of alleged crimes during protest movements. (https://dm-aegean.bordermonitoring.eu/2019/02/19/ongoing-criminalization-of-refugee-protests-upcoming-trials-against-migrants-on-lesvos/)

The case of the Moria 35 (http://legalcentrelesvos.org/category/news/moria-35/) clearly shows how people have been arbitrarily arrested and convicted through a trial that broke core principals of the European Charter on Human Rights (http://legalcentrelesvos.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Observation-report-Moria-35-VERSION-COMPLETE-AVEC-LES-ANNEXES.pdf), despite the fact that many of them were not even in the camp at the time of alleged crime. The Moria 8 (https://dm-aegean.bordermonitoring.eu/2019/02/23/moria-8-declared-innocent/) were also arbitrarily arrested after protests in Moria camp. They were eventually released in February 2019 after eleven months of unjust pre-trial detention because they were clearly innocent.

The Greek state’s attempt to now blame a group of boys for the obvious failure of the Greek hotspot system is revolting. At the same time, there are attempts to criminalize supporters and NGOs. However, it is neither the people seeking protection and struggling for a better life nor supporters engaging in human rights work who are guilty for the dramatic situation in the hotspots. The disaster of the camp is the result of the European Union’s and the Greek State’s policies.

Since the EU-Turkey Deal the Hotspots on the islands have become open-air prisons, with the full political and financial support of the European Commission and EU member states. In the last months of the Covid-19 crisis, the Greek government pushed forward its plans (supported by the EU) to build closed camps at the EU external borders, so called “controlled centers”, by fencing the people in Moria behind barbed wire. Basic human rights were ignored; medical and legal support were increasingly made impossible. Even the right to asylum was suspended and people were illegally pushed back to Turkey. The new Pact on Migration only entrenches and deteriorates this system of systematic disenfranchisement, taking the system of Moria camp as blueprint for their asylum policies.

The detained are not guilty of the crimes for which they are accused! Even if anyone who lived in Moria camp did set the fire, as an act of resistance against a system of deliberate disenfranchisement and destitution, it is clear that the real arsonists are those who make the camp system possible and keep it running.

We demand the immediate release of all the imprisoned accused of setting the fire!

We demand the closure of all camps and detention centers!

Evacuate the islands!

Freedom of movement for all!

We will support the accused in any way we can in the court cases, in the prisons, by publicity…

 

Please donate to following

Rote Hilfe e.V./ OG Hannover

IBAN: DE42 4306 0967 4007 2383 57

BIC: GENODEM1GLS

GLS Bank

Verwendungszweck: Cant evict Solidarity

contact:

cantevictsolidarity(at)riseup(dot)net

[Chios/Greece] CALL FOR DONATIONS of the campaign Cant evict Solidarity: Solidarity without borders against Repression against the protests of refugees in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic

CALL FOR DONATIONS of the campaign Cant evict Solidarity: Solidarity without borders

Repression against the protests of refugees in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic

 

Violence and repression against people on the move is becoming increasingly brutal and repressive. The exit restrictions imposed by the pandemic are hitting these people particularly hard. In addition, the pandemic legitimises even more brutal repressive measures on the part of politicians and executive bodies. Exemplarily three spotlights:

– The rage of people locked up in the lockdown due to Covid-19 unleashed itself in protests in Camp Vial on the Greek island of Chios after a 47-year-old woman who had fled Iraq died of a heart attack on April 18, 2020.
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Two days earlier, she had been taken to hospital with cardiac arrhythmia, tested negative for Covid-19 and given rudimentary medication. Afterwards she was locked up in a container outside the camp as preventive isolation, where she suffered a panic attack and was found dead the day after. When the police arrived to break up the protests, they used tear gas and batons. Some protesters reportedly defended themselves by throwing stones. Hundreds of people tried to flee from the police units and the fire into the surrounding fields, but did not dare leave the camp too far, as the Greek government has introduced a 150 euro fine for violations of exit restrictions since the Corona pandemic. Dozens of people were injured due to the brutal police action. Above all, nine fugitives are now in custody on remand and are currently charged with arson, damage to property, breach of the peace and violations of the weapons law. For a further six persons, remand pending trial has been requested. They are all now facing several years in prison.
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– At the beginning of April, a hunger strike by detained refugees against the conditions in the deportation prison in the Moria camp on Lesbos and in the deportation prison Paranesti in northern Greece was ended by police violence.

With the hunger strike, prisoners protested against the unfounded imprisonment, the inhumane accommodation and the lack of protection against Covid-19. On the Greek islands, people are not only detained after refusal of the asylum procedure, but many people are imprisoned immediately upon arrival after the dangerous crossing on the basis of their respective nationality. Although deportations from Greece are indefinitely restricted by Covid-19, people are not released from deportation detention. On the contrary, people continue to be detained on purpose.
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– After Turkish President Erdogan suspended the EU-Turkey deal at the end of February 2020 for power-political reasons and brought people to the border, the wave of racism and right-wing violence against refugees escalated further. In the process, EU border officials* fired deadly shots at the border river Evros. Here, too, there was mass indiscriminate detention of people seeking protection.
Now the government is stirring up a negative mood among the population with fears and additionally justifying its anti-migration policy with preventive measures against the pandemic. In recent weeks, there have also been increasing reports of illegal push-backs by the Greek coast guard on their way to and from the Greek islands.

A violent fight against the protests of refugees in the Greek camps, as well as their subsequent often arbitrary imprisonment and criminalisation, is an integral, structural component of the inhuman migration policy of the EU. This general approach is once again increasingly evident during the current pandemic.
Previous cases of repression against protesters have shown that individuals are arrested and charged in exemplary fashion, often completely independently of any actual involvement in the protests. This should prevent any protest in the camps against the catastrophic situation. In recent years, protests by residents* of the Moria camp on Lesbos have been violently suppressed several times and, as in the case of Moria35 , imprisoned for months without any evidence.

The response of the “You can`t evict Solidarity” campaign to the increasingly brutal repressive policies is a solidarity campaign. This includes public relations work and financial support for the trials of the detainees.

Donations in solidarity are welcome on this account:

Rote Hilfe e.V. / OG Hanover
IBAN: EN42 4306 0967 4007 2383 57
BIC: GENODEM1GLS
GLS Bank
Intended use: Cant evict Solidarity

Contact:

cantevictsolidarity(at)riseup(dot)net