Moria arson appeal trial postponed to Wednesday

The trial in the second instance at the Mixed Jury Court of Appeal of the North Aegean regarding the arson of the Moria migrant camp on the island of Lesvos on September 9, 2020, has been deferred to Wednesday.

The four Afghan defendants have been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a criminal court on the nearby island of Chios.

Two other defendants were sentenced in March 2021 over the same case to five years in prison. The sentence was reduced to four years by the Court of Appeal.

The fire tore through the overcrowded camp and totally destroyed it. It took place during the coronavirus lockdown. 

Conditions at the Moria facility, which hosted over 12,000 people – more than four times its stated capacity – were widely criticized by aid groups who said it was impossible to implement social distancing and basic hygiene measures there.