Nine Kurdish and Afghan human traffickers have received prison terms in France for their involvement in a tragic Channel shipwreck in December 2022 that claimed the lives of eight migrants.
Three of the traffickers, including one convicted in absentia, received eight-year prison terms, while the remaining six were sentenced to seven years.
They were also fined between €50,000 and €100,000 and banned from entering French territory. The charges included human trafficking, involuntary manslaughter, endangerment, and aiding illegal immigration.
The overcrowded boat embarked on the night of 13-14 December 2022, despite poor weather conditions. The incident ranks among the deadliest migrant shipwrecks since a disaster near Calais in November 2021 in which 27 people died. That case has yet to go to trial.
At the trial, one defendant admitted to transporting migrants from the Loon-Plage camp, where hundreds await a chance to cross over illegally to the UK. He claimed he acted under duress.
The vessel’s pilot, a minor from Senegal, had already received a nine-year jail sentence in the UK. A tenth individual, currently detained in Belgium, will face trial later.
The prosecutor highlighted the criminal ring’s operation as “extremely lucrative,” noting that each passenger paid at least €3,500. The boat was deemed “entirely unsuitable” for sea voyages.
Four passengers perished, and another four were declared missing. Only one was confirmed as an Afghan national.
The remaining 39 occupants, including Afghans, Indians, and Albanians, were rescued by French and British emergency services.
