Society News

Fourteen men on trial in Paris over the Channel's deadliest small-boat sinking

Fourteen men went on trial in Paris on Tuesday, September 8, over the sinking of an inflatable dinghy in the Channel on November 24, 2021, the deadliest small-boat crossing on record. The Guardian and Al Jazeera reported that 27 people died, four remain unaccounted for and only two men survived. The victims were mostly Iraqi Kurds, but also Afghans, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Vietnamese and others; the youngest was a seven-year-old girl.

The defendants, alleged to be linked to Afghan and Iraqi Kurdish smuggling networks, face charges including manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised gang. Two will be tried in absentia. Prosecutors say they launched a “substandard small boat, uncertified, unfit for navigation on the open sea, overcrowded and lacking appropriate life jackets”. The defendants deny being smugglers or dispute their role.

“Around 2:30am, we began bailing water out. But suddenly, the boat capsized.” — survivor Issa Omar, statement read in court, via Al Jazeera

Despite about a dozen calls to French and British rescue services, it was nearly 12 hours before a French fishing boat found the dinghy.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the victims and families, including a man who travelled from Erbil to address the court.
• Al Jazeera — the trial itself: 114 civil parties, only nine defendants present, and a UK inquiry that found some deaths avoidable.
• Arab News — the AFP preview of France trying 14 people over the disaster.

What we don't know yet: the verdicts; the trial is expected to last about three weeks.