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Italy court convicts captain of sunken refugee boat, Syrian national

The photo taken on April 20, 2015, shows Mohammed Ali Malek (L), one of the survivors and believed to be the captain of the boat that capsized off the coasts of Libya, and Mahmoud Bikhit (C), another survivor and a crew member of the boat, standing onboard the Italian Coast Guard vessel Bruno Gregoretti at Boiler Wharf, Catania, Italy. (Photo by AFP)

An Italian court has convicted the Tunisian captain of a refugee boat that capsized in the Mediterranean in 2015 killing as many as 900 people in what became the worst disaster in the sea since World War II.

Judges in the Sicilian port city of Catania sentenced Mohammed Ali Malek to 18 years in prison on Tuesday for multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy after the packed boat sank following a collision with a Portuguese freighter coming to its aid.

Additionally, Syrian national Mahmoud Bikhit, accused of being his first mate, was sentenced to five years in jail for his role in the tragedy off the coast of Libya.

The two men were also ordered to each pay nine million euros ($9.5 million) in compensation. Both men had claimed they were just refugees and had been forced to steer the boat by the actual traffickers, who they said drowned in the tragedy.

Survivors, however, told Italian investigators that Malek, who had lived in Italy in the past, was the captain of the vessel and that his lack of sailing skills caused the deadly collision.

The vessel was carrying mostly African nationals from the Gambia, Senegal, Mali, the Ivory Coast and Ethiopia, as well as some from Bangladesh. Only 28 of them survived.

Up to 900 asylum seekers were packed into the 27-meter boat when it left Libya. While Italian prosecutors have estimated the number of victims at about 700 since there were 700 body bags, forensic scientists who examined the remains put the figure at closer to 900, noting many bags contained body parts of more than one person.

Italian forensic experts spent months sorting through decomposed body parts to count the victims.

More than 12,000 people are known to have been killed in the Mediterranean since the current refugee crisis in Europe began in 2013.

International aid agencies believe that many more refugees are likely to have disappeared without trace. The dangerous journeys have not halted despite emerging cold weather as winter sets in.

A record number of 175,000 people have arrived on Italy's shores so far this year.


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