Austria jails 'atrocious' people smuggler
A people smuggler who crammed 42 refugees into just six square metres in the back of a lorry was sentenced to three years in jail in Austria on Tuesday.
"It's not difficult to imagine what it was like with 42 people squashed into six square meters," presiding judge Xenia Krapfenbauer said, calling it an "atrocious case".
The Romanian defendant, 37, said that he did not know how many people were inside and that he had been paid €1,500 ($1,705) to drive the lorry.
By the time Austrian police stopped the vehicle in July near Vienna, the migrants had been locked up for seven hours non-stop, with temperatures outside more than 30C (86 Fahrenheit).
The migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan did "thank God" however have air, Krapfenbauer said at the trial in Korneuburg in eastern Austria.
Seventy-one migrants in another lorry found abandoned in Austria in August were not so lucky, suffocating in a case that German Chancellor Angela Merkel called a "warning" to Europe.
Austria is a major transit point for refugees entering from Hungary, on their way to Germany and elsewhere. Since the August tragedy, Austrian police have stepped up checks for people smugglers.
Comments
See Also
"It's not difficult to imagine what it was like with 42 people squashed into six square meters," presiding judge Xenia Krapfenbauer said, calling it an "atrocious case".
The Romanian defendant, 37, said that he did not know how many people were inside and that he had been paid €1,500 ($1,705) to drive the lorry.
By the time Austrian police stopped the vehicle in July near Vienna, the migrants had been locked up for seven hours non-stop, with temperatures outside more than 30C (86 Fahrenheit).
The migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan did "thank God" however have air, Krapfenbauer said at the trial in Korneuburg in eastern Austria.
Seventy-one migrants in another lorry found abandoned in Austria in August were not so lucky, suffocating in a case that German Chancellor Angela Merkel called a "warning" to Europe.
Austria is a major transit point for refugees entering from Hungary, on their way to Germany and elsewhere. Since the August tragedy, Austrian police have stepped up checks for people smugglers.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.