Traffickers behind Syrian toddler's death sentenced to 125 years in prison

ANKARA

Three organizers of the human trafficking ring which led to the death of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, in a case that made headlines worldwide, were sentenced to 125 years in prison each on March 13.

The traffickers had been captured by Turkish security forces this week in the southern province of Adana.

The image of Aylan's lifeless body lying face down on a Turkish beach focused world attention on the refugee crisis, graphically illustrating the magnitude of the suffering, the lives destroyed and the treacherous journeys migrants risk when they take to the sea.

The three members of the Kurdi family drowned when their boat went down during the ill-fated journey from Bodrum to the Greek island of Kos. They were among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have risked the journey to Greece in the hope of then heading to wealthier nations in northern and western Europe.

A number of Syrian and Turkish defendants were found responsible for the accident and got prison sentences, but the three defendants sentenced today had fled during the trial.

The Bodrum High Criminal Court in Muğla sentenced the defendants for the crime of "killing with eventual intent."

Turkey’s Aegean provinces – Çanakkale, Balıkesir, İzmir, Muğla and Aydın – are prime spots for refugees leaving for the EU, with many Greek islands lying within sight of the Turkish coast.

Due to the Syrian civil war, hundreds of thousands have made short but perilous journeys in a bid to reach northern and western Europe in search of a better life.

A large number of people have died due to those journeys.