Overview
- Eight men were convicted in Paris and sentenced to between three and 15 years for roles in a smuggling network tied to the 2023 capsizing that left seven dead.
- The convictions centered on involuntary manslaughter and organised facilitation of illegal entry, with the court calling the operation particularly lucrative and exploitative of migrants' vulnerability.
- Kurdish Iraqis Idriss K. received 15 years and Tariq H. 12 years after the judge cited a lack of remorse and a risk of reoffending.
- Sudanese survivor Ibrahim A. was acquitted, recognised as a victim, and released after detention since August 2023, as the court said it could not establish he piloted the boat.
- The two-week trial outlined a network with an Iraqi‑Kurd logistics branch and an Afghan recruitment branch; the inflatable left near Calais with 67 aboard before engine failure led to seven deaths and 60 rescues by French and British services.