Thirteen people have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years in France over the sinking of a migrant boat in the English Channel that claimed the lives of 31 people in 2021.
Most of those who died in the November 2021 disaster were Iraqi Kurds. The incident was described by France’s interior minister at the time as the deadliest migration tragedy recorded on the dangerous Channel crossing.
Fourteen alleged smugglers stood trial from September 8 over their roles in organising the crossing. Twelve attended the proceedings, including one who was already in custody, while two others remain at large.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of organising the crossing using a small vessel that was unsuitable for open-sea travel, overloaded and lacking adequate life jackets.
The court said the trial had exposed the deadly consequences of smuggling operations that exploit vulnerable migrants for financial gain.
Six of the 14 defendants were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to between six and 10 years in prison.
One of the remaining eight defendants was acquitted, while the others received lesser sentences, mainly for offences related to facilitating illegal residence as part of an organised group.
Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer representing relatives of the victims, said the verdict represented accountability for the loss of lives.
“This trade in human distress, this trade of exile, when it costs the lives of 31 people and the sea becomes a graveyard, [has] a price, and the court said this price was justice and prison time.”
Only two people survived the shipwreck, with one giving evidence during the trial.
The survivor told investigators that he had previously attempted to cross the Channel with 53 other migrants, but the attempt failed and rescue teams returned them to the French coast.
He said his family in Iraq had paid $3,200 for his journey and that the same smuggling network organised the second crossing on November 24, when the boat sank.
According to his account, the grey vessel, fitted with a 40-horsepower engine, was prepared in a wooded area before being launched at about 10 p.m. local time. The migrants were provided with life jackets by the smugglers.
About four hours later, the boat began to deflate after its engine stopped, leaving it drifting with the currents.
The survivor said passengers made repeated attempts to contact emergency services in both France and Britain for assistance.
Meanwhile, a separate investigation remains ongoing into seven French military personnel who were indicted over allegations that they failed to assist the migrants during the disaster.
