http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/italy-delivers-landmark-sentence-against-migrant-smuggling-ring_437646.html
Italy delivers landmark sentence against migrant smuggling ring
Europe
08.02.2016
By our dpa-correspondent and Europe Online
Rome (dpa) - Six men linked to the tragic migrant sea crossing that ended at Lampedusa island more than two years ago with 366 dead were on Monday convicted in Italy‘s first-ever ruling against members of a human smuggling cartel.
The shipwreck on October 3, 2013, was at the time the deadliest in recent Mediterranean history. It was met with shock throughout Europe and led Italy to launch a naval rescue mission to prevent migrant deaths at sea.
The defendants, all from Eritrea, received jail terms ranging from two years to six years and four months from judge Angela Gerardi, following a fast-track trial in Palermo, Sicily, the ANSA news agency said.
One, jailed for five years, was granted a more lenient sentence for cooperating with the authorities on the investigation.
A verdict was not issued against three more suspects believed to be hiding in Libya - including the alleged mastermind of Libya-Italy migrant crossings, Ermis Ghermay - because of their fugitive status, ANSA said.
Another leading Eritrean people-trafficker, who had been on the run since April, was extradited from Germany to Italy on Saturday. Italian police said he had applied for asylum there, after helping "many" migrants travel illegally from Italy to northern Europe.
Received on Tue Feb 09 2016 - 01:29:49 EST