Moria camp fire trial begins for four defendants
The trial over the September 2020 fire that razed the Moria migrant camp on Lesvos started on Friday on the nearby island of Chios, with four young Afghan asylum seekers accused of arson with intent, endangering human lives and membership of a criminal organization.
The fire at the overcrowded reception and identification center resulted in the complete destruction of the camp and of many of the possessions and shelters of some 10,000 refugees and migrants.
According to a legal source cited by Agence-France Presse in a report on Friday, the defendants may face up to 15 years in prison if found guilty.
Their lawyers, meanwhile, claim that three of them were minors at the time of the incident and that the key witness who identified them – along with another two Afghans who have already been convicted to five years in an Athens prison – to the police had targeted them due to ethnic differences. The witness was not in court on Friday, according to the AFP.
