French court convicts Vietnamese truck tragedy suspects

[reader]

From AFP

A French court on Friday handed down jail sentences of up to 10 years in a people smuggling trial over the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated container on the way to Britain.

The bodies of the migrants who suffocated to death -- two of whom were just 15 years old -- were discovered inside the sealed unit at a port near London in October 2019.

They had travelled in the truck from northern France to Belgium before crossing the Channel to Britain.

Two ringleaders of the operation -- one Romanian and one British -- were convicted at a trial in 2021 in Britain and sentenced to 27 and 20 years in prison respectively.

Other suspects, notably the drivers, received 12 to 20 years, while a Belgian court handed a 15-year term to a Vietnamese man for heading the local cell of the network.

Of the 19 defendants in the French trial -- who include Vietnamese, French, Chinese, Algerian and Moroccan nationals -- 18 were found guilty.

Four of them, all Vietnamese, were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to nine or 10 years in prison.

Four other Vietnamese nationals, two of whom were absent and considered fugitive, were sentenced to between one and 10 years for their role in transporting and housing the migrants.

[vinapu]

at least some justice, sigh

[PeterRS]

23 hours ago, vinapu said:

at least some justice, sigh

Anyone who has read transcripts of the last phone messages made by these young people in the airless container truck can not fail to be moved to tears. They knew they were dying and were apologising to their families. So tragic!