ekathimerini.gr | 9 February 2022
Protesters torch equipment at Lesvos migrant camp, 4 arrested
Four people have been arrested on the Greek island of Lesvos after violence broke out during a protest against plans to build a new migrant camp, authorities said Tuesday.
Following a peaceful march to the site in heavy rain Monday, a small group of protesters set fire to earth-moving machinery being used by a contractor who has started work on the 87.5 million-euro ($100 million) project.
A police statement Tuesday said the four suspects face charges including attempted grievous bodily harm, arson and property destruction. It said another six people who allegedly participated in the violence have been identified.
The site at Plati, 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the island’s capital, Mytilene, is due to be completed by September and house up to 3,000 migrants and asylum-seekers.
Lesvos was the busiest entry point into the European Union in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of refugees from wars in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere crossed westward from Turkey.
An acutely overcrowded refugee camp at Moria, further south on the island, was destroyed in 2020 by a fire – which Greek authorities say was lit intentionally by camp residents – and was replaced by temporary facilities.