Sentenced in Paris over 2021 English Channel boat sinking that killed 31

Thirteen people were sentenced in Paris to prison terms of up to 10 years over the November 2021 sinking of a boat in the English Channel that killed 31 migrants, mostly Iraqi Kurds. The trial, which began Sept. 8, involved 14 defendants including two who remain at large; one was acquitted. Prosecutors said the organizers arranged a vessel unfit for open-sea navigation, overloaded it and failed to provide appropriate life jackets. A lawyer for victims’ families said the court imposed “justice and prison time” given the loss of 31 lives. France is also still investigating allegations against seven military personnel for failing to assist survivors. Authorities recovered 27 bodies, following an alert from a fishing vessel off Calais. Court documents said one survivor paid $3,200 funded by his family in Iraq and later took part in a prior failed attempt.