A judicial source reported that an Italian court sentenced on Tuesday three people to prison terms of up to 16-years for their role in a shipwreck involving migrants in which 94 people perished last year.

The nighttime shipwreck that occurred near Cutro in southern Calabria on February 26, 2023 was one of Italy's deadliest recent events. A wooden sailboat smashed into rocks just a few feet from the coast.

The defendants were two Pakistanis and one Turk, and they were found guilty of aiding and abet illegal immigration, resulting in the deaths of migrants. However, the charge of negligence shipwreck was dropped.

The Italian legal system allows for at least two appeals of the first instance decision.

In addition to the alleged human traffickers convicted in Crotone on Tuesday, prosecutors are launching a criminal investigation into the police and coastguard officers for alleged failures of prevention.

The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Melons has responded to the Cutro tragedy with harsher sentences for migrants smugglers. The report also criticised the judicial probe against the police and coastguard. (Reporting and editing by Alvise Armallini and Alistair Bell).

(source: Reuters)