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Kurdistan
Migrants on a boat (left). Photo: AFP; Smuggler arrested in Ranya on October 18, 2022. Photo: Rudaw; Graphic: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - One of the main smugglers involved in the death of dozens of people in the English Channel last November was detained on Tuesday by police in the Kurdistan Region following months-long investigations.
A dinghy carrying approximately 34 people, the majority of whom were Kurds, drowned in the early hours of November 24, 2021 after setting off from the French coast towards Britain. Police found the bodies of 28 people floating in the Channel. Two survived and four others remain missing.
Rudaw spoke to both survivors at the time who described harrowing moments after their dinghy experienced problems. The migrants called the British and French police repeatedly but their pleas were ignored according to the survivors.
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A source who witnessed the arrest on Tuesday morning in the town of Ranya named the smuggler as Bashdar and described him as a top human smuggler involved in the English Channel tragedy. The source who is familiar with the investigation said that following the tragic incident, a manhunt was launched by the British, French, and Kurdish police for the smugglers, believed to be around five individuals from the Kurdistan Region.
The lawyer representing the families of the victims confirmed that one of the smugglers has been detained but declined to name him.
“Today, the Raparin police directorate… was able to arrest one of the suspects in one of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s institutions… while conducting a legal procedure,” Ranj Barznji, a lawyer of the families, told reporters on Tuesday from Hajiawa.
Zana Mamand, whose brother Twana is assumed to have drowned in the dinghy and whose body is yet to be found, spoke to reporters from Hajiawa, saying that the families of the victims have filed complaints against the smugglers and the governments of UK and France and have legal teams representing them in both countries.
"The governments of France and UK have opened a case and began investigating. They have asked the KRG to form a committee, and the committee visited Paris on September 26... On November 18, 2022 the first court session will be held there. The investigations have been concluded and the case has been taken to court."
Mamand also expressed his gratitude to the institution of the KRG for their support in seeking justice, adding that the families urge the authorities not to release the suspect under any circumstances.
Shortly after the tragedy, French police arrested 15 people suspected of being involved, but five were released without charges. In June, one suspect was charged in France with manslaughter and people-trafficking, AFP reported.
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