PARIS: A French court on Tuesday sentenced eight men to between three and 15 years in prison over the deaths of seven people when a boat carrying migrants capsized in the Channel in 2023.

Two Iraqis, six Afghans, and one Sudanese national went on trial in November, accused of running a migrant-smuggling ring and faced charges including involuntary manslaughter, in the latest case targeting such networks between France and the UK.

Two 45-year-old Iraqi Kurds identified as the ringleaders of the smuggling network received the heaviest terms — 12 and 15 years — over the deaths of seven Afghans trying to reach the English coast.

The sentences were in line with prosecutors’ demands of three to 15 years for the eight defendants, who are aged between 23 and 45.

The court acquitted a ninth defendant, a Sudanese man who fled war-torn Darfur and was the presumed pilot of the vessel, after the public prosecutor’s office requested his release, recognising him as a “victim” in the incident.

The defendants “took advantage of the great vulnerability to profit from passages in dangerous conditions”, said the presiding judge on Tuesday. “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 judge added.

The defendants had denied any involvement in the crossing.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2025