UK court sentences Syrian trafficker to 10 years in prison

Syrian Kurdish immigrants wait at a meeting point in the desert near the Libyan-Algerian border en route to Spain and Europe – AP
Syrian Kurdish immigrants wait at a meeting point in the desert near the Libyan-Algerian border en route to Spain and Europe – AP

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A British court sentenced on Friday Anas al-Mustafa, a 43-year-old Syrian immigrant, to 10 years in prison for his role in trafficking immigrants who were found suffocated in a van earlier this year.

In August, the court convicted al-Mustafa, who moved to the UK from Syria in 2011, of facilitating illegal immigration.

He transported seven individuals, including a woman, in a van that was specially adapted to restrict space.

In February, the victims were discovered by crew members on a ship traveling between Dieppe in northern France and Newhaven on England’s south coast.

The van, described as having a space “no wider than a human chest,” was found to have deprived the individuals of oxygen, leading to their deaths.  

By Jwan Shekaki