Overview

• Nine Afghan and Kurdish defendants were found guilty in Lille for organising the December 2022 Channel crossing that led to eight migrant deaths.
• Judges imposed prison terms of seven to eight years along with fines and post-release travel bans, surpassing the sentences sought by prosecutors.
• The court convicted the smugglers on charges of human trafficking, involuntary manslaughter, endangering others and facilitating illegal entry.
• Authorities concluded the overloaded dinghy left Ambleteuse in freezing seas and capsized, resulting in four confirmed fatalities, four missing persons and the rescue of 39 migrants.
• A minor Senegalese pilot was previously sentenced to nine years in the United Kingdom for steering the same vessel.