Tuesday, December 21, 2021

NGO files legal complaint against France, Britain over migrant drownings

A French association working for the welfare of refugees has lodged a legal complaint against British and French authorities for “manslaughter” and “failure to provide assistance” in the case of a shipwreck tragedy that claimed 27 lives in the English Channel.  



Utopia 56 filed a complaint Monday with the Paris tribunal against Philippe Dutrieux, the maritime prefect of the Channel and the North Sea, Marc Bonnafous, director of the Regional Operational Center for Maritime Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) in the Cape of Gris Nez in northern France, and Britain’s Claire Hughes, director of Her Majesty's Coastguards.

In a statement, the association said the complaint was based on the testimonies of the two survivors and relatives of the deceased who confirmed several distress calls were made by the migrants in their inflatable boat to the French and English rescue services, who failed to respond in a timely manner.

An investigation by France’s National Jurisdiction Against Organized Crime established these call records before the bodies were discovered by a fishing boat.

“No help was given to them immediately. The calls went unanswered,” the statement said....

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