TWO Moroccan refugees will appear in a Greek court on Tuesday on charges of human trafficking. 

Hamza Haddi and Mohamed Haddar entered Greece on July 22 after fleeing oppression and political persecution in Morocco.

Haddi had been imprisoned three times in his home country in 2012, 2013 and 2014 for his active role in the 2011 uprising widely known as the “Arab Spring” and for his subsequent work with the Moroccan Association for Human Rights.

He fled the country with his brother Yassine and met Haddar and another refugee known only as Reda in Turkey as they were attempting to reach Europe this summer.

The Freedom for Hamza and Mohamed campaign group says the four refugees were abandoned by a smuggler on an island in the Evros River, which separates Turkey from Greece.

“They had to continue crossing using only an abandoned boat,” the Freedom for Hamza and Mohamed website says.  

“Barely having reached the Greek shoreline, the police were waiting for them and proceeded to open fire with live bullets in their direction, attempting to capsize the vessel.

“Fortunately none of them were hit, but once caught, the police stripped them of their clothes, humiliating and physically assaulting them repeatedly on the way to the police station.  

“Furthermore, Hamza and Mohamed were accused of illegal transfer of migrants, despite the lack of evidence for this crime.”

The refugees claim that once caught, Reda, the only member of the four who can speak English, was physically forced to make a false testimony saying Haddi and Mohamed were human traffickers. He says he was also forced to sign a statement in Greek.

If the court in the north-eastern city of Komotini finds Haddi and Haddar guilty, they could face more than 10 years in jail.