France issues tough jail sentences for Iraqi-Kurdish Channel migrant smugglers

'Merchants of death' sent to prison for up to 15 years by a court in Lille

18 convicted in France for small boat people smuggling following joint operation involving NCA. Photo: NCA

Eighteen members of an Iraqi-Kurdish-led smuggling gang were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years by a court in Lille, France on Tuesday, but only seven were present to hear the verdict, as many had been released after spending two years in pretrial detention.

Among those sentenced was British citizen Kaiwan Poore, 40, who was arrested by the British National Crime Agency (NCA) as he attempted to flee the UK in July 2022 and was eventually extradited to France.

Poore and 10 others did not appear at the hearing. Lead prosecutor Julie Carros also fined Poore €50,000 ($54,675) and ordered that he hand over his British passport.

Speaking to The National, lawyer Kamel Abbas said he had expected tough sentences as France intensifies its crackdown on human trafficking across the English Channel.

"In her indictment, the public prosecutor called them [people smugglers] merchants of deaths," said Mr Abbas. Yet "they are prosecuted for manslaughter, not murder, because it's not stated that they had the intention of seeing these people die at sea."

The migrant death toll in the English Channel has reached an unprecedented 59 so far this year, marking the highest number of recorded drownings off the French coast. Among the victims was Maryam Bahez, a 40-day-old Iraqi-Kurdish baby, whose death last month drew international attention. She had been "trampled to death", said French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

The reason so many defendants did not appear at the hearing is because they were automatically released after two years in prison, Mr Abbas said. All those absent were subject to new arrest warrants.

"Once the two-year correctional mandate is exceeded, release is automatic unless an order has been issued with a referral to a criminal court within a short period of time," he said.

Their current whereabouts remain unclear. Most are banned from French territory for life and may face deportation when apprehended or upon their release.

Europewide operation

Poore's arrest was part of a huge operation across Europe targeting a people-smuggling network thought to be behind more than 10,000 small boat crossings to the UK, said the NCA.

"The trial in Lille saw Poore and the other defendants charged with facilitating small boat crossings between France and the UK, with the boats and other equipment being transferred from Germany and the Netherlands to the beaches of northern France," it added. "Each crossing stood to net the criminal network around €100,000 in profit."

Ringleader Mirkhan Rasoul, 26, was the only one to appear in person already detained.

Wearing a black jumper and surrounded by four policemen, he sat behind a glass box, while four others attended the hearing remotely from prisons in northern France.

Rasoul was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a €200,000 fine. The verdict was translated into Kurdish via an interpreter.

It was reported that Rasoul had previously threatened translators in the courtroom. At the opening of the verdict, he and others were warned by Ms Carros to behave.

"I want to remind you that your behaviour must be the same as that during the hearings, with respect, reserve and courtesy," the prosecutor said.

Rasoul had already been convicted on previous people-smuggling charges and had started serving a separate eight-year sentence for attempted murder, the BBC reported.

The NCA said Rasoul controlled members of the trafficking network by phone even though he was in prison in France.

NCA deputy director Craig Turner said: "This network were among the most prolific we have come across in terms of the number of crossings they were able to organise. Their sole motive was profit, and they didn't care about the fate of migrants they were putting to sea in wholly inappropriate and dangerous boats."

Lawyers The National spoke to said their clients rejected accusations against them and would appeal.

They include Aziz Rebwar Hamad, who appeared by videolink from prison in France. He was sentenced to four years in jail. Accusations against him included acting as a driver for migrants wishing to cross illegally to the UK, buying life jackets and travelling to the Netherlands to fill jerry cans with fuel, his lawyer Mr Abbas said.

Hamad was ordered to hand over his Dutch ID, Dutch passport and Iraqi passport to French authorities.

Mr Abbas is among those who argue that prison sentences will not stop people-smuggling networks, considering the large amounts of money involved. Estimates range from €2,000 to €7,000 paid per head in boats carrying up to 50 people.

"There is so much money at stake that there will always be people willing to get into the business," said Mr Abbas, who added that figuring out the exact profits made by the gangs was a difficult exercise.

"We base ourselves on wire-tapping or notebooks when we find them, but it's hard to know if the numbers written down represent the sums paid to smugglers or what is left after payment. It's unclear," he said.