Campaigners hope overturning of Akif Rasuli’s 50-year sentence will be ‘first victory’ for criminalised migrants in Greek jails
An imprisoned Afghan refugee wrongfully accused of smuggling people into Greece has been told he can walk free in a trial that activists hope will set a precedent for thousands of others in similar situations.
After a marathon day of proceedings, an appeals court sitting on the Aegean island of Lesbos ruled that Akif Rasuli could be released more than two years after he began serving a 50-year sentence for the crime of “facilitating the illegal entry” of undocumented migrants into the country. The three-member tribunal overturned the conviction citing lack of evidence.
