An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced a smuggler defendant involved in last year’s shipwreck that killed at least 94 migrants to 20 years in prison, according to reports.
A court in the southern city of Crotone found Turkish national Gun Ufuk, 29, guilty of causing the shipwreck and aiding illegal immigration.
It also ordered him to pay a fine of 3 million euros ($3.2 million) and damages to civil plaintiffs.
Ufuku denies being in charge of the boat, but was one of four people allegedly trafficked on board the migrant boat that sank in rough weather off the coast of Calabria on February 26.
The boat carrying around 180 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Syria, including many children, left Turkey but sank several meters below shore.
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Bodies and debris washed up on beaches in the area for several days after the wreck.
One suspected smuggler died in the wreck, and two others are on trial.
Ufuk told the court Wednesday that he was hired as a mechanic on the boat but never sat at the helm.
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“I had to flee Turkey for political reasons,” he told the court, explaining how he was jailed for criticizing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Following the shipwreck, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowed to crack down on human traffickers, including toughening penalties and giving priority quotas to the country’s workers who help fight smugglers.
Her far-right party, Brotherhood of Italy, won the 2022 election on a promise to curb sea migration.
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