Earlier this week, a court of first instance in the Calabrian city of Crotone sentenced three alleged smugglers of the migrant vessel to between 11 and 16 years in prison. They were on board a ship that sank off Cutro in 2023, causing the death of at least 94 migrants.
On Wednesday, December 10, a court in the Calabrian city of Crotone sentenced three men, accused of being involved with smuggling migrants on board a vessel that sank off nearby Cutro, to between 11 and 16 years in prison. The boat they were on sank off the nearby coastal area of Steccato di Cutro in 2023, causing the death of at least 94 migrants, including 35 newborns, children and teens.
At least 10 passengers were reported missing after the 'Summer Love' vessel sank after running aground about 100 meters from the coast of Steccato di Cutro.
The court is known as a court of 'first instance.' There are at least two more levels of court judgements possible according to the Italian system, before a final appeal. Often decisions made in the first or second instance can be overturned or changed in later hearings, or at appeal.
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Sentenced
The court sentenced Hasab H. a 22-year-old Pakistani, to 16 years in prison, along with Sami F. a 51-year-old Turkish citizen, while Khalid A. 26, also from Pakistan, was given a jail term of 11 years on charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration and, as a consequence, causing the passengers' deaths.
They were not judged to be responsible for the incident and acquitted of culpable shipwreck charges.
The sentence is opposed by the two Pakistani defendants, who cried when it was read out in court. Over the course of several hearings, they repeatedly said they were just passengers -- a claim opposed by prosecutor Pasquale Festa, based on the accounts of some of the 85 survivors.
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Previous trials
The sentence on December 10 was the last of a series of trials of first instances against the alleged smugglers -- a total of six according to investigators.
One of them, Guler B. a 35-year-old Syrian citizen, who is considered by investigators as one of the organizers of the trip and accused of skippering the boat, died in the shipwreck.
The other two, Mohamed A. (26), also a Syrian citizen, and Gun U. (29), a Turkish national, were sentenced to 20 years in prison during two separate fast-track trials.
Compared to Mohamed A. and Gun U., the three defendants convicted on December 10 were not considered to be the boat's skippers, as explained by the prosecutor in his closing argument on December 9.
However, he said, "they had an active role in managing passengers of the shipwrecked vessel, even if their responsibility in the shipwreck can't be compared to the one of those skippering the boat".
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Request issued to indict officials
Festa in particular stressed that Hussain, who initially pretended to be a minor, was one of the "organizers of the trip" and that "74 photos with identity papers, checks, bank transfers of other people who had already reached Italy, in some cases," were found "in his phone."
On the judicial front, the State attorney's office in Crotone has requested the indictment of six military officials -- including four members of the finance police and two of the local port authority -- who are accused of contributing to cause the deadly shipwreck of the 'Summer Love' vessel.
The request was forwarded by prosecutor Pasquale Festa to the preliminary hearings judge (GUP) in charge of the case. The six officials face charges of culpable shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
The investigation, conducted by Carabinieri police, revealed alleged "omissions" by the officials that could have contributed to cause the shipwreck on the night between February 25-26, 2023, according to prosecutors.
The officers' intervention, after the presence of the migrant boat had been reported the previous night by a Frontex surveillance aircraft, was managed as a police operation by the finance police officers and no search-and-rescue mission was ordered for coast guards.
A preliminary investigations judge (GIP) will have to decide whether the officials will stand trial. No preliminary hearing has yet been scheduled.