Two Syrians jailed over drowning of toddler Alan Kurdi

Two Syrian men were sentenced to more than four years in prison on Friday for the death of a young Syrian boy whose body washed up on a beach in Turkey in September.

The death of the boy, Alan Kurdi, and the gripping photo of his body lying face down in the sand and surf of the beach focused the world’s attention on the plight of migrants risking their lives to flee war and deprivation. The Turkish news agency Dogan identified the two men as Muwafaka Alabash (36) and Asem Alfrhad (35).

A court in the coastal resort town of Bodrum, in southwestern Turkey, convicted them of smuggling refugees, five of whom died, including Alan (2); his 5-year-old brother, Galip; and their mother, Rihan, who all drowned when the 15-foot rubber raft they were riding to Greece flipped in high waves.

The court acquitted the men on charges of causing the deaths through deliberate negligence, and reduced their initial sentence of five years in prison to four years and two months because of good behaviour, according to Dogan. The court left open the possibility that the men could file an appeal.

The local prosecutor in Bodrum had said that authorities could not find any evidence that the Syrians acted with deliberate negligence, the legal standard for a tougher punishment, according to local news reports.

A lawyer for Alabash, Kemal Ertugrul, said the chief organizers of the smuggling ring were still at large, and that his client would appeal the verdict. Ertugrul has also charged that the boy’s father, Abdullah Kurdi, was involved in smuggling refugees, an allegation the father has denied.

New York Times