The Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca - Famagusta yesterday sentenced Abdul Sattar Mohammed, 3,5, from Syria to 35 years in prison, after finding him guilty in a smuggling case of immigrants. The panel also sentenced Maher Ali Bayram, 18, and Naser Kazem Ismail, 32, from Syria to 50 months in prison after finding them guilty of smuggling persons into the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Criminal Court on January 24, 2017 had found Abdul Sattar Mohammed guilty in four of the five charges he faced and related to aiding and abetting the entry of third-country nationals through the territory of the Republic, assisting the passage of third-country nationals through the territory of the Republic, and transport of a person by water on an unsafe or overloaded boat, offenses committed on an unknown date until November 3, 2015 in the province of Famagusta.
However, the House acquitted and acquitted the accused of the conspiracy to commit a crime, since, as he had stated in his decision, Abdul Sattar Mohammed decided that the boat should head to Cyprus during their voyage, when they were leaving Latakia. Syria.
It is noted that on November 3, 2016 before the Permanent Criminal Court of Larnaca - Famagusta, also accused in the case of Maher Ali Bayram, 32, and Naser Kazem Ismail, 50, from Syria, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the illegal entry of third-country nationals. and transport of persons by water on an unsafe or overloaded boat, offenses committed on November 3, 2015 in the area of Cape Greco in Paralimni.
The Criminal Court had suspended the criminal prosecution against the two accused for the other three offenses they faced, namely conspiracy to commit a crime, aiding and abetting the illegal entry of third-country nationals from the territory of the Republic of Cyprus and smuggling of migrants.
It is recalled that the boat with a total of 26 migrants, 15 Syrians, 8 Lebanese and the three accused, had sailed from Lebanon on October 30 with initial destination Greece. However, while they were in the middle of the route, the trafficker who was between them on the boat, escaped by inflatable boat, leaving the 26 people, mostly women and children, at the mercy of the rough sea and the strong winds that blew in the area.
When the boat was off Cyprus, the engine went off and one of the passengers called a friend in Larnaca that they were in danger of drowning. The young man immediately notified the Search and Rescue Coordination Center and reported the incident.
The center had been notified by Lebanese authorities that a boat had sailed illegally from a port in the country and had launched a search and rescue operation amid strong winds and severe sea turbulence.
According to the rescuers to the Police, the adults had paid the trafficker 2 thousand dollars each to transport them to Greece, while the children paid a thousand dollars.
Source: KYPE