A juvenile court judge on Tuesday
sentenced a 17-year-old Moroccan national to seven years in
prison for aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
The teen named as Mohammed Bougurra skippered a vessel on
which 52 asylum seekers died of suffocation from engine exhaust
after they were locked in the hold and not allowed up for air.
The victims and 400 survivors - including 54 women and 67
minors - were rescued in the Strait of Sicily on August 26 last
year by Swedish ship Poseidon, which was taking part in the EU's
Triton patrol-and-rescue mission, and taken to Palermo.
An ensuing investigation identified 10 skippers, including
Bougurra.
He will be tried for murder in separate proceedings, as
will the other nine suspects.
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