Turkish man sentenced to 3-years in prison for human trafficking

A 22-year-old Turkish man has been found guilty for human trafficking and sentenced to three years imprisonment.

The defendant committed the crime on October, 22, 2021 when Coast Guard found him at about 1.5 nautical miles off Yeşilırmak attempting to return to Turkey, after landing 18 migrants on the coast of Pirgo in south Cyprus. 

Police said the suspect who resides in Turkey set off from Manavgat, Turkey in boat named Thunder Bird 1, a 7-meter-long white boat.

He was paid $5,000 to ferry the 18 Syrian migrants, five of whom were children.

The court judge touched upon the seriousness and gravity of the crime of human trafficking committed by the accused and stated that the defendant's gaining benefits from immigrants who were victims of the crime increased the gravity of the crime. The judge said that they evaluated against the defendant's risking their lives in the open sea with 18 immigrants and mentioned all the issues in favor and against the accused and announced that they were unanimously sentenced to 3 years in prison.