Six smugglers jailed for manslaughter over worst Channel small boats disaster
Summary
Six people who smuggled migrants across the English Channel were found guilty in France for causing the deaths of 31 migrants when their boat sank in 2021. They were sentenced to prison for manslaughter, with sentences ranging from six to ten years.Key Facts
- The boat sank on November 24, 2021, after migrant distress calls to French and British coastguards.
- 31 people died, including a seven-year-old child; the victims were mostly Iraqi Kurds, Afghans, Egyptians, and Iranian Kurds.
- Only two men survived the disaster.
- The migrants were sent on an unsafe, overloaded boat without proper life jackets.
- The traffickers belonged to two separate criminal networks—one Iraqi Kurd and one Afghan—that worked together for the crossings.
- Seven other people received shorter prison terms for aiding the migrants, while one person was found not guilty.
- Families of victims testified at the trial, sharing personal stories and showing how they followed their relatives’ journeys.
- Police used phone tracking to identify the smugglers involved in organizing, sheltering, and transporting the migrants.
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