[Thessaloniki, 25.09.24] Homayoun Sabetara's appeal trial finally came to an end this afternoon. The judges recognised that Mr. Sabetara was on his own migration route when he got arrested by the Greek authorities and therefore reduced  his sentence from 18 years to 7 years and four months. After already  spending three years in prison, Homayoun Sabetara will now be released from prison under conditions.

"I am just happy!", states his daughter Mahtab Sabetara. Homayoun Sabetara's release is a huge relieve for his children. After serveal postponements and more than three years of not being able to have adequate contact, Homayoun Sabetara's appeal trial ended with a verdict today. With his imminent release, he will finally have access to the urgent medical care he was denied during his time in prison.

"We will be satisfied with this medium result that Homayoun Sabetara will be released, given that the court does not have the courage to declare people inocent in such cases." Mr. Sabetara's lawyer Dimitris Choulis states. "But what we are convinced of is that people like Homayoun Sabetara do not belong in prison, not even for a day". As the EU has made it impossible for people seeking asylum to come to  Europe through legal ways, people are forced to cross borders on  dangerous routes, while risking to be criminalised for not having other  options at hand.

With the pronouncement of the verdict, the judges also recoginze the lawyers' argument that Homayoun Sabetara acted neither for profit nor for base motives. "The court has acknowledged that Homayoun Sabetara has made this journey to be with his children in Berlin," Harry Ladis, Mr. Sabetara's second lawyer, summarises.  Until this day, the court has not been able to find the key witness, for whom the trial got postponed in April. According to Harry Ladis, the fact that the conviction was nevertheless based on his testimony, constitutes a violation of his right to a fair trial on which the conviction could be easly challenged in a higher court.

Nevertheless, Homayoun Sabetara and his children will have a long way to go before he is finally acquitted. The  journey of Homayoun Sabetara is far from ending yet. Until he does not  receive a positive decision on his asylum request, he is still in danger  of being forced to leave his children behind one day. The campaign  #FreeHomayoun will continue raising awareness about the circumstances of  thousand of people having to face the same charges as Homayoun  Sabetara.