People smuggler gets harshest sentence
Cyprus authorities have handed down the harshest penalty to date for migrant trafficking, with a smuggler receiving a five-year prison sentence for bringing over 100 migrants from Syria and Lebanon. Another smuggler is facing a tougher sentence, including a charge of manslaughter, after a three-year-old girl died during a rescue operation. The convicted individual admitted to assisting migrants in unlawfully entering Cyprus for financial gain and was found to be part of an international ring engaged in migrant smuggling. The ill-fated journey of the boat involved in the case started from Lebanon without proper navigation tools and with insufficient fuel, leading to the engine failure and the migrants being adrift at sea.