An Asylum seeker was sentenced to over 9 years imprisonment on Friday for manslaughter and facilitating illegal entry into the UK over the drowning deaths of 4 migrants last December. He piloted an overcrowded, unseaworthy dinghy that sank while crossing the English Channel from France.
Ibrahima Bah, the Asylum seeker believed to be over 18, was convicted by a jury on 4 counts of manslaughter and one charge of aiding unlawful migration. Prosecutors stated he owed passengers a duty of care as the unpaid pilot of the dangerously overloaded inflatable boat carrying at least 43 people.
The boat embarked from France on December 14th, 2022 with no safety equipment and quickly took on water. Bah claimed he was forced to drive the vessel at gunpoint by smugglers who threatened his life if he refused. However, the lead prosecutor disputed his version of events at trial.
When the dinghy got into distress, occupants reported water pooling around their knees within 30 minutes of departing. Authorities rescued 39 survivors but at least 4 migrants drowned, with potential additional unrecovered bodies. Survivors described screaming for help amid chaos.
Sentencing judge Justice Johnson denounced the flimsy dinghy as an obvious “death trap”, like all similar Channel crossing attempts. He acknowledged the immense tragedy for victims’ grieving families.
Migrant rights advocates have organized protests condemning Bah’s prosecution as disproportionately harsh to serve the UK government’s political pledge of stopping unlawful small boat migration. But immigration officials contend knowingly piloting hazardous crossings shows callous disregard for endangered lives.
The high-profile conviction and sentence serves as a stark warning for individuals involved in orchestrating risky Channel passages. Nonetheless, critics argue targeting desperate asylum seekers fails to address the complexities perpetuating the ongoing crisis.