- Chan Atak, a 19-year-old asylum seeker from South Sudan, has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court for piloting an overcrowded boat across the English Channel.
- The 13-metre vessel was carrying a then-record 165 migrants on 23 July, including 31 children, despite suffering engine failure, deflating tubing and a severe lack of safety equipment.
- Judge Sarah Counsell said that Atak played an important role in navigating the dangerous journey, though there was no evidence he organised the crossing or profited from it.
- The defence said that Atak paid €200 to smugglers to seek sanctuary in the UK after fleeing conflict in South Sudan and severe persecution in Libya.
- Atak pleaded guilty to endangering others during the Channel crossing and is now liable for automatic deportation as a foreign national convict.
IN FULL
