February 20, 2024
2 mins read

Court finds Senegalese guilty over migrant sea deaths

Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats in 2023, according to UK government figures…reports Asian Lite News

A man who piloted an “unseaworthy” boat across the English Channel was found guilty Monday of the manslaughter of four migrants who drowned during the crossing.

Ibrahima Bah, from Senegal, took the helm of the poor quality inflatable carrying 43 people, which should have held no more than 20 passengers, in December 2022.

But within 30 minutes of leaving the northern French coast, the boat got into trouble, with water lapping around the knees of the dozens crammed on board, according to evidence heard at Bah’s trial.

Nearly 30,000 migrants crossed the Channel from mainland Europe to Britain in small boats in 2023, according to UK government figures.

The numbers are a political headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who last year pledged to “stop the boats.”

Bah, who is over 18 but whose exact age is in dispute, had denied the charges but was found guilty of four counts of manslaughter.

The jury also found him guilty of one charge of facilitating illegal entry to the UK.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson had told the trial at Canterbury Crown Court in southeast England that Bah was aware the boat was “overcrowded, lacking in safety equipment and, as it took in water… increasingly unseaworthy.”

A rescue operation plucked 39 people from the water and took them to safety. But the four others were pronounced dead.

The court heard that Bah, who had no training, did not pay for his own journey because he had agreed to pilot the boat.

Giving evidence in his defense, he said he agreed to pilot the boat before he had seen it, in exchange for free travel for himself and a friend.

He claimed he changed his mind on seeing it but that the people smugglers beat him and threatened to kill him if he did not go ahead.

Three of the four men who died have never been identified. The fourth was named as Hajjratullah Ahmadi.

A coroner’s inquest was told they may have been from Afghanistan and Senegal.

Bah told police at the time of his arrest he had traveled from Senegal to Mali and then eventually Libya, before going by boat to Italy using smugglers.

He will be sentenced later this week.

French authorities said last month that five migrants — including a 14-year-old Syrian boy — had died and 30 more were rescued after trying to make the journey to England’s southern coast in freezing temperatures.

ALSO READ-UK govt nears pact on cooperation with EU border force

Previous Story

UK govt nears pact on cooperation with EU border force

Next Story

Watchdog opens probe over Sunak’s TV appearance

Latest from -Top News

‘Kill and Dump’ Haunts Balochistan Again

The latest killings have reignited accusations of extrajudicial executions and the use of counterterrorism laws to cover up custodial deaths in Balochistan….reports Asian Lite News Concerns have deepened across Balochistan following the

‘ASEAN Expands, But Keeps Its Soul’

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan urged ASEAN to uphold its unity and strategic resolve amid intensifying geopolitical tensions and mounting external pressures…reports Asian Lite News Consensus and inclusivity will remain the cornerstones

Bangladesh bends to beat Trump’s blow

Dhaka seeks compromise as Trump’s 35% tariff looms large over key exports; Washington urges worker protections, factory relocation to US…reports Asian Lite News Bangladesh has opened the second round of critical trade

China seethes as US lands F-35s in PH

As US F-35 jets land in the Philippines for the first time, Manila cements its frontline role in Washington’s power play against rising China….reports Asian Lite News The Philippines is rapidly cementing
Go toTop