Six Iraqi and Afghan traffickers found guilty over drowning of 31 migrants on Channel dinghy
A Paris court on Wednesday found six men from Iraq and Afghanistan guilty of manslaughter over the drowning of 31 migrants on an overcrowded dinghy five years ago in the English Channel. Seven other men, including a Pakistani national, were found guilty of lesser smuggling charges, including facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Two, who had cut…
A Paris court found six men from Iraq and Afghanistan guilty of manslaughter for the drowning of 31 migrants in an overcrowded dinghy in the English Channel five years ago. Seven others, including a Pakistani national, were convicted of lesser smuggling charges. Two defendants, who had severed ties with smugglers prior to their arrest, were allowed to serve their sentences at home with electronic tags.
The court determined each defendant's level of responsibility in the largest single drowning incident in the Channel. The victims primarily consisted of Iraqi Kurds, along with Afghans, Ethiopians, an Egyptian, a Somali national, an Iranian Kurd, and a Vietnamese national. The makeshift boat used was deemed unsuitable for the voyage due to its rudimentary equipment and eventual engine failure.
Smuggling operations, according to prosecutors, require substantial resources and involve minimum costs to maximize profits. The trial revealed that Iraqi and Afghan smuggling networks collaborated in northern France to transport migrants to the UK.
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