Man sentenced to 1033 years in boat disaster case

VAN

Medeni Akbaş, who was on trial for the boat disaster in Lake Van claiming the lives of 61 irregular migrants, including one child, has been sentenced to 1033 years in prison.

Akbaş, who has been detained for two years, was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months for 60 people, 25 years for the child and eight years for “smuggling immigrants.”

In the indictment prepared by the chief public prosecutor’s office it stated that more than the capacity was taken on the boat, though the exact number of passengers could not be determined.

The boat named “Akbaş” carrying irregular migrants in the eastern province of Van sank off the coast of Çarpanak Island on June 27, 2020, due to adverse weather conditions.

A lawsuit was filed against 12 suspects with a request for 38 years and six months in prison, on charges of smuggling immigrants and “causing the death of more than one person through conscious negligence.”

The other defendants in the case were acquitted.