In a solemn culmination to a protracted legal saga, a French court has delivered a decisive verdict in a people-smuggling trial related to the heart-wrenching deaths of 39 Vietnamese individuals in 2019. The victims, including two 15-year-olds, tragically suffocated within a sealed refrigeration container during their perilous journey across the Channel from France to Britain.
The court handed down incarceration sentences of up to a decade, underscoring the severity of the charges against those involved in orchestrating this illicit human trafficking operation. Notably, the two key orchestrators, a Romanian and a British national, had already faced justice in a 2021 trial in Britain, where they received sentences of 27 and 20 years, respectively.
Among the 19 defendants in the French trial, a diverse array of nationalities was represented, including Vietnamese, French, Chinese, Algerian, and Moroccan individuals. Eighteen of them were found guilty, with the sentencing reflecting the varied degrees of involvement and culpability in this tragic incident.
Four Vietnamese defendants, convicted of involuntary manslaughter, received substantial sentences ranging from nine to 10 years behind bars. Additionally, four other Vietnamese nationals, implicated in the transportation and housing of migrants, were handed sentences ranging from one to 10 years, with two individuals considered fugitives.
The remaining defendants, which included drivers and those managing accommodations in collaboration with the smuggling network, received suspended jail terms. Notably, one driver was acquitted of all charges.
During the trial, disturbing revelations emerged from intercepted phone communications, where the group callously referred to the migrants as “goods” or “chickens,” highlighting the dehumanizing nature of their criminal enterprise.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, poignant messages from the victims, recorded inside the sealed lorry, added a deeply personal dimension to the case. Pham Thi Tra My, a 26-year-old victim, conveyed her desperate plight in a message to her parents, expressing love and lamenting her inability to breathe. Another victim’s recording conveyed the poignant desire to return to family and lead a good life.
While some defendants claimed coercion into working with the smuggling ring, the court attributed their actions primarily to financial motives. The trial’s outcome stands as a stern reminder of the grave consequences awaiting those engaged in such heinous human trafficking operations.
By AFP
