Fourteen suspected people‑smugglers have gone on trial in Paris for their role in the worst‑ever small‑boat disaster in the English Channel.
The trial follows a November 2021 tragedy in which at least 30 men, women and children drowned when their motorised dinghy deflated and began taking on water midway between France and Britain. The victims, many of whom were Iraqi Kurds, also included migrants from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Afghanistan, the youngest victim being a seven‑year‑old child.
The 14 defendants – almost all Afghan nationals – are accused of manslaughter and facilitating illegal immigration as part of an organised criminal group. Most deny the charges, while two alleged leaders remain at large and are being tried in absentia.
According to the charge sheet, the smugglers launched a “small boat of poor quality, unfit to navigate at sea, overloaded and equipped with inadequate life‑jackets.” Twenty‑seven bodies were recovered after the boat sank, with four more missing.
The case comes amid investigations into rescue failures on both sides of the Channel. In France, seven military personnel are under judicial inquiry for allegedly failing to assist people in danger, while a UK inquiry found that the HM Coastguard in Dover had limited capacity due to chronic staff shortages and weather‑related delays.
Family members of the victims traveled to Paris for the trial, expected to last three weeks. “Once again the smugglers displayed total cynicism,” said Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer representing many of the families. “They know perfectly well what they’re doing, and they deliberately risk sending migrants to their deaths.”
