Man indirectly responsible for death of Syrian boy gets 4 years in prison

(Baonghean.vn) - A Turkish court on March 4 sentenced two Syrian defendants to four years in prison after five migrants drowned, including the boy Aylan Kurdi, an image that sparked strong sympathy around the world in September 2015 for the fate of migrants, Dogan news agency reported.

A man holds up a poster depicting the body of a Syrian boy on the beach during a protest for migrant rights in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 3, 2015. Photo: Reuters.

Three-year-old Aylan drowned and his body washed up on a beach in southwestern Türkiye, sharing the same heartbreaking plight as his mother and brother, who were among a group of migrants trying to reach Greece by boat.

According to Dogan news agency, the two Syrian defendants were each sentenced to four years and two months in prison for human trafficking.

Since Aylan's death, the European Union has faced a growing crisis over how to deal with hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving from Syria and other countries, which now threatens to tear the 28-member bloc apart.

European Council President Donald Tusk also visited Türkiye on March 4, promoting close cooperation in resolving the migrant issue ahead of the EU Summit on March 7.

Praised for taking in some 2.5 million refugees fleeing Syria's five-year civil war, Türkiye - a candidate for full EU membership - is now under pressure to stop migrants from making further perilous journeys to Europe.

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)