A new investigation has cast doubt on evidence used to imprison six Afghan teenagers for the fire on the Greek island of Lesbos
The six accused were arrested days after the fire, and labelled arsonists shortly thereafter. The four adult men, convicted in June 2021, have been sentenced to ten years in jail for the crime of arson with risk to endanger life and two minors were given five years by a youth court. Although the boys lost their appeal, the four older teenagers were successful and their appeal is scheduled to take place today. The men’s defence lawyers allege their trial had major procedural violations and the conviction was based largely on testimony from a witness who was not present.
The fire raised what was then the largest refugee camp in Europe during the height of the pandemic and left thousands without shelter. At the time it was estimated that about 12,000 people had been living in a space designed for less than 3,000.
Research commissioned by the defendant’s lawyers and carried out by Forensic Architecture and Forensis to map the spread of the fire has been released. The report indicates a possibility that the fire may have been ignited by the wind and highlights inconsistencies in testimony. The Forensis report also corroborates the report from the Lesbos fire department, which concluded that the fire in an area called Zone 12 was spread by flames fanned by the wind.
Outbreaks of fires were increasingly common at the camp as its population grew and unsafe practices including a reliance on ad-hoc electricity supplies amidst unsafe, highly flammable tent-like structures became commonplace. Dimitra Andritsou, a coordinator at Forensis, has said the fire was not an isolated incident but was one of a series of at least 247 outbreaks that had occurred in and around the camp since its establishment in 2013.
