Ibrahima Bah, a Senegalese man, has been sentenced to at least six years and three months in custody for manslaughter and smuggling dozens of people into the UK on a dangerous small-boat journey across the Channel, resulting in the deaths of at least four individuals.
Bah was not part of a people-smuggling gang, and the judge acknowledged that he was actually one of the people being smuggled, forced to steer the boat. Some campaigners view Bah as a victim of people smugglers, blaming the government’s refusal to open safe and legal routes for sustaining their business model.
The judge, Mr. Justice Johnson KC, stated that the primary responsibility for the deaths lies with the people-smuggling gangs, not with Bah. However, under UK law, Bah was held accountable and sentenced to nine-and-a-half years, of which he will serve at least six years and three months in custody.
Bah is just one of several small boat pilots prosecuted under expanded powers in 2022, as the Home Office aims to “stop the boats and prosecute those responsible.” Other cases include Ashari Mohamed, Reda Hamoud Abdurabou, and Daban Majeed, all prosecuted for steering the boats on which they were passengers.
Fizza Qureshi, the chief executive of Migrants’ Rights Network, expressed concern over the criminalization of individuals driven by desperation into the arms of people-smuggling gangs. The full article can be found here.