Mohammad Hanad Abdi, who was sentenced to 142 years in prison in 2021 for “people smuggling,” won the appeal in Greece.
The criminal court of Lesbos announced Monday during an appeal procedure the release within a month, a Somali sentenced in 2021.
The 29-year-old Somali who fled his dogged by the Al-Shabab terrorist group was sentenced in May 2021 to 142 years in prison, including 20 years in prison for illegal transport of migrants with aggravating circumstances since two women drowned during a journey at sea.
Any migrant accused of driving a refugee boat faces a minimum sentence of ten years in prison, even if it is proven that he is not a smuggler and that he was not paid to make the crossing, this is according to Greek law (4251- article 30).
The law also hands 15 years imprisonment to anyone who dies during the trip, and eight years for each passenger transported.
On December 1, 2020, Mohammad Hanad Abdi boarded a boat with 33 other people. However, the engine failed within 30 minutes.
The smuggler, before leaving them stranded, pointed a gun at Mohammad and ordered him to guide the boat.
On Monday, the court reduced Mohammad’s sentence to 8 years in prison. He will be released within a month due to good behavior, work he’s done in prison and time already served. This comes after similar cases in which two Afghans had their 50-year sentences reduced on appeal.
A Greek left-wing MEP, Stelios Kouloglou, stated that more needs to be done to help migrants who are wrongly accused and imprisoned in Greece. He and his colleagues have started an information campaign in the European Parliament to raise awareness of the issue.