Three human traffickers have been sentenced to 125 years each in prison over the death in 2015 of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi, who was pictured lying face down on a beach which was seen by many as the catalyst to open the EU borders to millions of undocumented migrants.
The men were captured by Turkish security forces this week in the southern province of Adana and sentenced on Friday, according to state news agency Andalou. They ran an extensive human trafficking gang making them vast sums of money.
They were on the run after fleeing during their trial. Other Turkish and Syrian defendants have also received prison sentences following the toddler’s death in September 2015.
The men were sentenced at the Bodrum High Criminal Court in Mugla for the crime of “killing with eventual intent.”
The 3-year-old’s body washed up on a beach in Bodrum, in southern Turkey, after a boat carrying refugees sank off the coast. An officer was pictured carrying the lifeless child away.
Twelve refugees drowned that day during a failed attempt to sail to the Greek island of Kos, including the toddler’s 5-year-old brother, Galip, and their mother, Rehen. The boys’ father, Abdullah, was the only survivor from the day.
Unity News Network (UNN) Staff Writer | To find out more details about our staff, please head to the About Us section on our website.
