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A French court on Tuesday handed prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years to eight men over the deaths of seven migrants whose boat overturned in the English Channel in 2023. The group, consisting of two Iraqis, six Afghans and one Sudanese national, went on trial in November, accused of running a people-smuggling operation, facing charges that included involuntary manslaughter. The case is one of several recent prosecutions targeting smuggling routes between France and the United Kingdom.
Two Iraqi Kurdish men, both aged 45 and identified as the leaders of the network, received the longest prison terms — 12 and 15 years — for their roles in organising the journey that ended in the deaths of seven Afghan migrants attempting to reach the UK. The sentences matched the prosecution’s recommendations, which sought between three and 15 years for the defendants, who are aged from 23 to 45.
A ninth defendant, a Sudanese man believed to have piloted the vessel, was acquitted after prosecutors requested his release, acknowledging him as a “victim” of the events. The presiding judge criticised the convicted men for exploiting vulnerable people by offering hazardous crossings, adding that their actions had created the conditions that led to the drownings and put dozens of others at immediate risk.
All of the convicted men denied involvement in the fatal crossing. The acquitted Sudanese defendant was the only one who spoke openly about the incident during the trial, though he maintained that he was not steering the boat.
The tragedy occurred in August 2023 when a heavily overcrowded boat carrying 67 people capsized after suffering engine failure on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. All seven victims were Afghan nationals, while 60 survivors were rescued by French and British emergency teams.
Investigators later uncovered what they described as an “organised and structured system” facilitating irregular crossings to the UK from bases in France and Germany. According to the judges’ referral order, the smuggling network was operated primarily by members of the Iraqi-Kurdish community in Germany, who managed logistical arrangements, while an Afghan cell was responsible for recruiting migrants.
The deaths added to mounting pressure on both France and the UK to disrupt people-smuggling operations. Britain has signed several agreements with France and other European countries to crack down on irregular migration and target the organised gangs behind the crossings. French courts have prosecuted other similar cases, including a ruling in Lille in June, where seven Afghans and two Iraqi Kurds were sentenced to between seven and eight years in prison after a 2022 Channel crossing attempt resulted in eight deaths.
