A Paris court has sentenced six men to prison for manslaughter following the deaths of at least 27 individuals in a 2021 Channel small-boat crossing. The incident, described as the worst mass drowning on record from such crossings, also left four people missing and presumed dead.
Seven other men were found guilty of various smuggling charges, including facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang and criminal conspiracy. Sentences for these individuals ranged from six months suspended to four years in prison.
Prosecutors stated that the convicted men were involved in launching a "substandard small boat, uncertified, unfit for navigation on the open sea, overcrowded and lacking appropriate lifejackets." The court heard that the sinking of the inflatable dinghy in November 2021 was caused by "individuals driven by greed, with utter disregard for human life."
The confirmed victims, who included a seven-year-old girl, were primarily Iraqi Kurds, alongside individuals from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Somalia, Vietnam, and Egypt. A separate investigation is ongoing in France concerning seven French military personnel who are under investigation for allegedly failing to assist a person in danger; they deny the allegations.