Following a four-week trial in Paris, the court found the six guilty of causing the deaths of the migrants, who were mostly Iraqi Kurds, along with Afghans, Egyptians and Iranian Kurds. The victims included a seven-year-old child. Only two people survived the sinking.
The court heard that the boat used for the crossing was of poor quality, uncertified, overloaded, and lacked proper life jackets. The six convicted men were members of two separate networks – one Iraqi Kurd and one Afghan – that cooperated to organise the crossing and bring migrants to the departure point on the French coast.
In addition to the six main defendants, seven others received lesser sentences of up to four years, and one person was acquitted.
Family members of the victims travelled from Iraqi Kurdistan to attend the trial and gave moving testimony about how their relatives ended up on the boat.