Arabic version: سجن مراهق بسبب قيادة قارب مطاطي عبر القناة يحمل 165 مهاجراً

According to BBC News, Chan Mathok Atak, 19, has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after piloting a dinghy carrying 165 migrants across the English Channel on 23 July.

Atak, from South Sudan, admitted endangering others during the crossing. Prosecutors at Canterbury Crown Court said he created a risk of death or serious personal injury to those aboard. Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was so serious that “only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified”.

The 12.8ft-wide and 46.9ft-long dinghy travelled between Calais and the UK and was deflating when Border Force vessels picked it up. It carried 31 children, with the youngest aged 14, and had two outboard engines, although one was not working.

The National Crime Agency said the vessel was severely overcrowded, with limited food, drinking water and medication, and had been at sea for almost 24 hours. It said the lifejackets were completely inadequate and that batteries positioned close to fuel cans created a considerable fire risk.

Prosecutors said aerial footage showed Atak piloting the vessel for 90 minutes using the remaining functioning engine. He was later seen moving away from the engine and removing his jacket, which prosecutors said was an attempt to avoid identification. The judge warned that Atak, as a foreign national, was liable in principle to automatic deportation after completing his sentence.