Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Court case against teenagers sentenced to 10 years for burning down refugee camp didn't ‘meet the standards of a fair trial’
Refugees and migrants carrying their belongings flee a fire burning at the Moria camp on Lesbos island, Greece, on September 9, 2020

THE trial of four Afghan teenagers jailed for 10 years each for starting a fire that destroyed a much-criticised refugee camp last year was not up to legal standards, observers have said.

The youths were found guilty on Saturday of “arson with risk to human life” for the fire that broke out at the vastly overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the Aegean island of Lesbos.

Greek authorities left about 12,000 people without help for days after the camp, originally built to house 3,000, was destroyed by the blaze before a new camp was hastily built on a former military firing range.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Red Devils' logo
Men’s Rugby League / 12 August 2025
12 August 2025

Fan group The 1873 issues scathing response to owners’ statement saying the club will not close

People inspect the damage at the Sheikh Radwan al-Taba UNRWA clinic following an Israeli army bombardment in Gaza City, August 6, 2025
Gaza / 6 August 2025
6 August 2025

Israeli media awash with leaks and rumours of Netanyahu’s plans to seize Gaza. Meanwhile, the unrelenting siege of Gaza continues unabated 

Demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags look on as the Ship to Gaza boat 'Handala' arrives at the port of Malmö, Sweden, May 8, 2024
Middle East / 29 July 2025
29 July 2025

Mr Smalls and 13 other Freedom Flotilla Coalition activists who tried to break Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza aboard the Handala ship remain in detention and on hunger strike

Similar stories
JUSTICE AT LAST: Senator Ivan Cepeda speaks to journalists outside court in Bogota, Colombia on Monday, July 28 2025, after former president Alvaro Uribe was found guilty of witness tampering and bribery in a case Cepeda brought against him
Features / 1 August 2025
1 August 2025

Alvaro Uribe is found guilty of witness tampering and procedural fraud, reports NICK MACWILLIAM

Lady Justice statue, depicting a seated, blindfolded woman holding a sword, stands outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, September 2, 2024
Brazil / 25 June 2025
25 June 2025