A 19-year-old South Sudanese asylum seeker has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison in the United Kingdom after admitting to piloting an overcrowded boat carrying 165 people across the English Channel.
Chan Mathok Atak was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to endangering others during the July 23 crossing from France to Britain. The vessel was carrying men, women and 31 children, with the youngest passenger aged 14.
Prosecutors said Atak was one of two people who took turns steering the boat and was seen controlling the vessel for about 90 minutes. At the time, the crossing involved the largest number of passengers recorded on a single small boat crossing the Channel, although that figure was later surpassed by another vessel carrying 230 people.
The boat was described as being in poor condition. One of its two engines was not working, while parts of the vessel had begun to deflate and it was taking on water. Authorities also said it lacked basic navigation, first-aid and emergency equipment.
Judge Sarah Counsell said Atak played an important role in controlling and navigating the vessel and that his involvement was not brief or incidental. She said people who choose to steer such boats assume responsibility for the safety of everyone aboard.
However, the court heard there was no evidence that Atak organized the crossing or profited from it. His lawyer, Audrey Mogan, asked the court to consider his age and background, describing him as a young asylum seeker who had fled violence in South Sudan and endured difficult conditions during his journey through Libya, Italy and France.
The National Crime Agency said Atak’s actions could have resulted in multiple deaths had the vessel not been intercepted by the UK Border Force. The agency said it currently has more than 100 investigations into organized immigration crime.
The case comes as the UK government continues its efforts to crack down on small-boat crossings and migrant-smuggling networks. The government says tougher enforcement is aimed at disrupting criminal gangs that organize dangerous journeys across the Channel.
As a foreign national sentenced to more than one year in prison, Atak may face deportation after completing his sentence, although any future immigration or asylum proceedings would take his conviction into account.
The case has renewed debate over how responsibility should be assigned when asylum seekers are found piloting boats operated by migrant-smuggling networks, particularly when those individuals may themselves have paid gangs for passage.
Swifteradio.com
