The German judiciary convicts a human smuggler to 7 years in prison
The Landgericht Landshut in Bavaria sentenced a man to seven years and two months in prison for smuggling more than 130 people, mostly Syrians, into Germany. The court proved that the defendant organized seven smuggling trips since August 2023, some in collaboration with others.
According to the public prosecutor's office, up to 29 people were smuggled at a time in transport trucks or closed boxes across the borders in the states of Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Brandenburg. Investigations reported that these vehicles were not equipped with seats or safety devices, nor were they provided with adequate ventilation, posing a direct risk to the lives of the smugglers.
The accused was asking for between 3000 and 4000 euros for each person. The court considered that all seven cases involved "humiliating and dangerous treatment that threatens life," and ordered the confiscation of 36,500 euros from the proceeds of smuggling.
The court convicted the defendant of five charges related to organized smuggling within a gang, and two other charges related to commercial smuggling of foreigners. The prosecution had requested a sentence of up to seven and a half years, while the defense requested acquittal. The defendant was arrested in August 2024 and has been in pre-trial detention since then. The ruling issued at the end of May is still not final.
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