German court sentences three Syrian migrant smugglers
August 11, 2017
A district court in Germany has convicted three Syrian smugglers to several years imprisonment. The trial centered on the deaths of 13 refugees in the Mediterranean.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
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Prosecutors in Traunstein, near the Austrian border, accused the men of "professional smuggling of people resulting in death."
The court on Friday sentenced the 27-year-old main defendant to four years' imprisonment, while the boatman was handed a two-and-a-half-year jail term. A third man, who had a previous conviction for trafficking, and who acted as a liaison for families, was put on two years' probation.
Prosecutors accused the men of "professional smuggling of people resulting in death."Image: picture alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
The three organized smuggling trips between Izmir in Turkey and the Greece coastline across the Mediterranean. During one fateful trip in September, 2015, an unlit dinghy overloaded with refugees struck a freighter near the Greek island of Lesbos and 13 people died, Two children remain missing.
The main suspect in the case, a Syrian national in Turkey, was charged with organizing the dangerous boat trips. The boatman was himself a refugee and was offered free travel in return for piloting the dinghy while the third liaised with the family members of the refugees in Germany.
The three defendants had come to Germany as refugees themselves.
ap/jm (AP,dpa)
Refugees brave the Death Pass into Europe
"Passo della Morte," the Death Pass, is the last hurdle in Italy for many migrants and refugees venturing further north into Europe. Photojournalist Federico Scoppa accompanied several Afghans on the precarious crossing.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Into the woods
A small group of Afghan teenagers, fearful of being followed by police, set off on the roughly 12-kilometer (seven mile) hike along roads and the dangerous mountain tracks of the Death Pass to France.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
A treacherous route
Migrants and refugees cross the border between the town of Ventimiglia in Italy and Menton in France by walking through the highway tunnels or along railroad tracks or by climbing over the rocky mountain. Whichever way they choose, the journey is sometimes fatal.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
High speeds, low visibility
Many migrants and refugees access the highway that leads to France at this fence. From here they risk their lives walking through the tunnel.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Relying on nature
Those who opt for the Death Pass generally set off without knowing the route or carrying supplies of food or water.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Out with the old
Old farmers' storehouses are used by refugees and migrants as shelter, to rest or to wait for nightfall before they cross the mountain. Worn clothes are left behind when they change into fresh clothes, hoping that a tidy appearance will help them avoid getting caught by the French police.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
'Peace' signals the way
A "pace" flag hanging from the border fence between Italy and France indicates where people can squeeze through. The French government erected the fence after World War II to stop Italian immigration.
Image: DW/F.Scoppa
Charting a path
The teenagers survey the route down to Menton. The highest point of the Death Pass is nearly 300 meters (985 feet). Often the migrants and refugees are caught once they make it to France and sent back to Italy.
