Ibrahima Bah was sentenced last Friday (February 23) by a Canterbury court for the manslaughter of four people who died during a Channel crossing in December 2022.

The young man had been steering the inflatable boat, which was carrying 43 people when it set out from the northern French coast. Within 30 minutes of leaving, the overcrowded dinghy got into trouble and soon broke apart.

A major rescue operation was launched in which 39 people were saved. Four others are known to have drowned and up to five are still missing at sea, according to Captain Support, a support group for migrants accused of driving boats to Europe.

One of the victims was identified as Hajratullah Ahmadi, from Afghanistan. Two others have been named as Allaji Ibrahima Ba and Moussa Conate, both from Guinea.

However, doubts remain about their identities and a coroner's inquest was told they may have been from Afghanistan and Senegal, the news agency AFP reported.

In a police interview, Bah said that one of those who died had been a close friend aged 18, according to the BBC.

A tragedy for all

A jury convicted Bah early last week of four counts of manslaughter and of facilitating illegal entry into the UK.

The court heard that the young Senegalese man, whose exact age is in dispute but is said to be over 18, had agreed to help steer the boat across the Channel in return for free passage.

Bah said he had changed his mind on seeing that the vessel was small and unseaworthy, but that the people smugglers beat him and threatened to kill him if he did not go ahead. 

Handing down the sentence on Friday, the judge described the boat as "wholly inadequate" and "a death trap."

"What happened is an utter tragedy for those who died and for their families," he said, adding: "This is also a tragedy for you. Your dream of starting a new life in the UK is in tatters."

Criminalizing migration

It is the first time a migrant has been found guilty of manslaughter in a "boat pilot" case in the UK. Activists and rights groups including Captain Support say Bah's case reflects an escalation in the government’s policy of criminalizing migrants and asylum seekers.

The Home Office welcomed the sentencing, publishing the news in a post on X with its "Stop the Boats" campaign slogan.

Hannah Marwood, from the migrant rights group Care4Calais, accused the government of treating Bah as a scapegoat. "This young man, who only wanted to ask for sanctuary, never stood a chance," she wrote on X. "The government wanted him scapegoated. He is being used in the most disgusting way I can imagine."

Also read: Migrants-as-smugglers: Europe's criminalization of people on the move

Under the Nationality and Borders Act, which came into force in June 2022, it is an offense to arrive in the UK by crossing the Channel. It is also an offense to facilitate another person’s arrival or attempted arrival in the UK, regardless of whether there is any financial or other gain. The maximum penalty for facilitating arrival is now life imprisonment.

A report published Sunday by a researcher at Oxford University entitled "No such thing as justice here" states that the new offenses force migrants into more dangerous situations and "achieve nothing but human misery."

Also read: New UK law to criminalize all Channel migrants

Ibrahima Bah will serve his sentence in a youth detention center and will be moved into adult custody once it is determined that he has reached the age of 21.