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Saturday, March 5, 2016

2 Syrians receive 4 years prison over Aylan Kurdi's death

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court on Friday sentenced two Syrian smugglers to four years and two months each in prison over the deaths of 5 people including 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, who galvanized world attention on the refugee crisis when a photo was published of him lying lifeless on a beach. The court in the Aegean resort of Bodrum convicted the two of human trafficking but acquitted them of the charge of causing the drowning deaths through deliberate negligence, the agency said. Aylan's brother, Galip, and mother, Rihan, were also among the five victims who drowned when their boat went down in the ill-fated journey from Bodrum to the Greek island of Kos last year. Trials in Turkey usually take months — even years — to conclude, but the verdict, which came at the end of the third hearing just a month after the trial opened, appeared to be an effort by the country to show that it is cracking down on human traffickers, just before Monday's summit between Turkey and the European Union to discuss the migrant crisis. The court initially sentenced them to five years in prison each, but then reduced the term to four years and two months due to the defendants' good behavior during the trial and other legal reductions.


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