Five men, R, Ö, İ, B, and A, were involved in the smuggling of six migrants.
The facts, as briefly outlined by the Muğla Penal Courthouse in the trial of the five men, state that A and R met at a restaurant belonging to Ö, before taking six migrants to a vessel owned by İ. The migrants waited on the vessel in the port of Güllük in the district of Milas, Turkey. One of the migrants wanted to reach France. The intended destinations of the other migrants are not known.
The migrants were apprehended by police while on the docked vessel. There was a phone call made by one of the migrants to İ’s mobile phone. The migrants had a phone conversation with İ while on board the ship.
The specific role of B in the migrant smuggling venture is not identified.
TürkiyeThe convicted defendants appealed against the decision of the lower court. The appellate court upheld the convictions but reduced the sentences of imprisonment from four years to three years. The sentence was reduced by one quarter due to the fact the offence had been an 'attempt', as is required by Article 35 of the Penal Code of Turkey.
Justice Serpin Çetinkol was partially in disagreement with the majority, but ultimately decided to uphold the convictions.The Court of Cassation’s Penal Law Chamber
There were indications in the judicial proceedings against the accused in this case that charges for document offences were also laid. Whether or not such charges were prosecuted, and whether the accused were found guilty of them, was not known at time of writing.