Seven young Afghan migrants drowned while trying to reach the UK across the English Channel in an overcrowded boat in August 2023; six of the bodies were recovered in the aftermath of the incident from the water, while another body was later found washed up on a beach in the Netherlands.

Sixty survivors meanwhile were rescued by both British and French emergency services operating in the Channel at the time.

A total of 67 people were on board the vessel when its engine failed, resulting in its capsizing in the Channel, which is the busiest shipping route in the world.

According to French authorities, investigations revealed that the boat was not designed for such an ambitious crossing, and that only a few people on board were wearing life jackets.

Read Also'Injustice pursues me': Ibrahim A. goes on trial for English Channel shipwreck

'No remorse, no regret'

The trial against the smugglers involved in the case began at the Paris Court of Justice earlier this month, with two Iraqis, six Afghans and one Sudanese national accused of running a people smuggling operation together, moving migrants from France to the UK.

The public prosecutor's office brought various charges against these eight defendants including involuntary manslaughter and aiding and abetting illegal residence.

Two 45-year-old Iraqi nationals, identified as Idriss K. and Tariq H., were determined by prosecutors to be the ringleaders of the smuggling ring, and were handed the heaviest terms — 12 and 15 years, respectively. 

"All of you who have been found guilty of manslaughter created the conditions that led to the deaths of people who drowned before help arrived and exposed others to imminent risk of death," the presiding judge said during sentencing on November 18.

The judge added that the prosecution had sought particularly heavy terms due to a "lack of remorse" displayed by the members of the gang as well as the risk of reoffending; both of the ringleaders had actually previously been convicted as smugglers already.

The defendants denied any involvement in the crossing during the entire trial.

Sudanese witness falsely believed to be part of criminal ring

A ninth defendant in the case, a 31-year-old Sudanese national identified as Ibrahim A., meanwhile was acquitted.

Initially, he had been presumed to be the pilot of the boat; however, during court proceedings it became evident that he was also only a victim of activities of the gang.

Much of the trial, conviction and sentencing was based on his eyewitness account; his lawyer told the French AFP news agency after spending more than two years in prison, the acquittal meant his client was now eligible to apply for refugee status in France, as he had fled the ongoing civil war in his home country.

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The presiding judge wished Ibrahim A. good luck for his future, saying that the "court hopes that you will find in France the better life you were seeking when you boarded that boat."

Ibrahim A., however, told the court that he felt disillusioned about all the dreams he had had about coming to Europe: "I wanted to build a new life. A better one than the previous one. I feel like I’m not being treated like a human being and that I don’t have the right to live like others," he said, referring to his incarceration during the past two years.

Read Also'Injustice pursues me': Ibrahim A. goes on trial for English Channel shipwreck

Smuggling gang operating across Europe

The investigation into the incident in the Channel in preparation for the trial exposed the existence of "an organized and structured system" operated by the smuggling ring to facilitate irregular migration to Britain, according to court papers.

The smugglers reportedly recruited migrants not only in France but also in Germany, with investigators operating in several European countries uncovering a network "led by the Iraqi-Kurdish community" based in Germany in charge of handling the smuggling logistics.

Investigators also found that an "Afghan branch" of the ring was in charge of recruiting migrants for the perilous crossing.

This latest trial comes on the heels of another court case in the northern French city of Lille in June, where seven Afghans and two Iraqi Kurds were sentenced to seven to eight years in prison after a boat transporting irregular migrants from France to Britain capsized in 2022, resulting in the deaths of eight people.

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Thousands of migrants still trying to reach theUK each year

Despite the introduction of progressively restrictive measures and limitations on asylum claims in the UK, tens of thousands of migrants continue to cross the English Channel in the hopes of reaching Britain. 

These journeys often involve the use of small rubber dinghies as well as improvised boats cobbled together by smugglers to squeeze in more people per crossing.

Dozens of people continue to die each year in the English Channel during these highly dangerous crossings.

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with dpa, AFP