ROME - A human trafficker involved with the Cutro shipwreck has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 3 million euros, the Crotone tribunal court said. 

 The 29-year-old Turkish national, Gun Ufuk, was responsible for the deaths of 94 migrants who died when their ship, Summer Love, sunk in stormy weather on Feb. 26, 2023, off the coast of Cutro in Southern Italy. At least 14 children, including a newborn died. Around 180 migrants were on the boat, mainly from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

 Ufuk was one of four alleged human traffickers on the boat, one of whom died in the shipwreck. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying he “had to escape from Turkey for political reasons” after being imprisoned for taking part in the 2016 coup and criticising President Erdogan, saying he wanted to claim political asylum in Europe. He also said he had “never driven a boat”, including the Summer Love and instead was working as a mechanic on the boat.

 Ufuk was arrested in Salzburg, Austria, on March 8, 2023, while trying to reach Germany. He left the scene of the shipwreck on foot, before reaching Bari by taxi and travelling by public transport to Rome.

 The Crotone magistrate charged him with aiding and abetting illegal immigration, negligent shipwreck, and death as consequence of another crime.

 Ufuk’s lawyer, Salvatore Falcone, argued that the Turk should be acquitted from the charges of negligent shipwreck and death as a consequence of a crime because “the witnesses all say that Ufuk never drove the boat.” His lawyer also argued against the charge of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, criticising the lack of a “concrete alternative implemented by the international community” and “no humanitarian corridors” to help refugees escape from regimes such as the ones in Iran and Afghanistan.

 Falcone criticised the emergency services for failing to respond adequately and called Ufuk “a scapegoat for those who should have intervened” in reference to a report and reconstruction of the accident by the Italian justice police released in Nov. 2023. According to this report, the European Union border patrol Frontex launched two boats to try to reach the ship after initially ignoring reports of a sinking vessel, however turned around due to stormy weather. Ufuk also added that “people onboard called the emergency numbers several times.”

 After the sentencing, Ufuk said he was “so sorry for the pain caused to the families of those who died.”

 This ruling comes as Giorgia Meloni and many other European leaders try to crack down on immigration, especially illegal sea crossings.