In connection with the deaths of seven migrants, including an entire family, the leader of a people-smuggling operation was sentenced to prison. Rauf Perot Rahimifar, an Iranian Kurd, was convicted along with three others of trafficking and manslaughter relating to a small boat that capsized in the English Channel in October 2020.
The victims included an Iranian- Kurdish family: Rasoul Iran-Nejad, his wife, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, and their children, Anita, 9, Armin, 6, and Artin, 15 months. About 25 people were tipped into the water when the boat sank. Artin's body was discovered in Norway after washing ashore 600 miles away.
Rahimifar, 38, who also has a 2021 conviction for voyeurism in Denmark, was found guilty of arranging the trip and of manslaughter. He had pleaded not guilty at the court in Dunkirk. He was jailed for nine years and given a £60,000 fine.
Mostafa Kakelahi and Hoshiar Khezri, also Iranian Kurds, were held responsible for manslaughter, putting lives in peril on purpose, and running a people-trafficking business. Kakelahi and Khezri were given seven- and five-years’ imprisonment respectively, and fined.
A fourth man, Assalan Ghorbani, was convicted of manslaughter and deliberately endangering life, as well as smuggling and joining a criminal conspiracy.