Teens charged with rape of boy in Lesvos camp

Four Pakistani 17-year-olds were arrested on Wednesday, accused of gang-raping a 16-year-old boy in a refugee camp on Lesvos.

According to authorities, the incident occurred on Sunday morning at the overcrowded Moria camp and was recorded by the assailants on their cell phones.

The victim, an unaccompanied minor, reported the offense to the Medecins du Monde-Grece NGO, and a subsequent medical examination confirmed he had been raped.

The four suspects, charged with rape and child pornography, were granted conditional release by a local court on Wednesday and have been forbidden from leaving the country.

The court also ordered the transfer of all four – who deny the charges – from the Moria camp to other accommodation pending their trial.

The victim was relocated to another shelter.

In a statement, Medecins du Monde said the “tragic
incident” has again highlighted the problem of keeping unaccompanied minors at Moria for extended periods and the psychological toll it is taking on them.

NGOs have repeatedly urged authorities to transfer unaccompanied minors to other more suitable shelters.

Lesvos is among the islands in the eastern Aegean that have borne the brunt of the refugee crisis. There are some 5,800 migrants on the island in camps with a capacity of just 3,500.