An asylum seeker found guilty of manslaughter following the deaths of four migrants while he navigated them across the Channel in a ‘death trap’ dinghy has failed in his attempt to contest his convictions and sentence.
Ibrahima Bah received a sentence of nine and a half years for his role in the fatalities while piloting the ‘completely unsuitable and not in any way seaworthy’ boat on the journey from France to the UK on December 14, 2022.
During a retrial at Canterbury Crown Court, he alleged that traffickers had threatened to kill him if he did not pilot the boat; however, prosecutors dismissed his claims as lies and asserted that he had a ‘duty of care’ towards the passengers as their operator.
The Senegalese citizen, believed to be 20 years old, was also convicted of facilitating illegal entry into the UK.
When sentencing Bah earlier this year, judge Mr. Justice Johnson remarked: ‘The boat was entirely inadequate and not even remotely seaworthy for a crossing of the Channel.
‘It constituted a death trap, similar to every boat of its kind that departs across the Channel under comparable conditions; the fact that fatalities do not occur in many instances is hardly comforting.
‘The events that transpired represent a profound tragedy for those who lost their lives and for their family members.’
During a session earlier this month, Bah presented his case to the Court of Appeal, seeking permission to appeal his convictions and sentence.
In a decision issued on Wednesday, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr stated that Bah could not pursue the appeal, declaring it was not ‘arguable’.
Jurors learned that the makeshift, low-quality inflatable was designed for no more than 20 individuals but had approximately 45 people aboard in the English Channel that night.
In his remarks during sentencing, the trial judge stated: ‘It was constructed from substandard and inadequately durable materials – it lacked a rigid hull, proper seating, a sufficiently powerful engine, lights, navigational equipment, charts, compass, radio, emergency supplies, flares, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, food and water, paddles, toolkits, life rafts, waterproof clothing, life jackets, and an insufficient quantity of buoyancy aids that did not meet any recognized standards.
‘It was grossly overcrowded (and) you were traversing the busiest shipping lane in the world on a cold winter night.’
Richard Thomas KC, representing Bah, previously characterized his trial as ‘touching on a highly politicized issue that elicits very strong emotions’.
Mr. Thomas communicated to the Court of Appeal in London that it was a ‘joint venture’ to embark on the journey to the UK, adding that Bah’s actions ‘meant that a route to the UK was accessible, tragically allowing the deceased to take that route.’
The barrister elaborated: ‘Their decision to undertake the journey, fully aware of the inherent risks, constitutes the independent choice that breaks the causal chain.’
Alongside Mr. Justice Dove and Mr. Justice Murray, Baroness Carr refuted this assertion.
She articulated in her ruling: ‘The judge accurately evaluated that the deceased’s choice to board the boat voluntarily could not sever the causal link; the evidence in this regard was therefore irrelevant to causation.’
Baroness Carr also determined that the trial judge provided appropriate guidance to the jury, noting: ‘An instruction to the jury suggesting that the fact the deceased boarded the boat willingly interrupted the causal chain would have been misdirection.’
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opposed the appeal effort.
Duncan Atkinson KC, representing the CPS, previously stated: ‘This is a matter where the boat’s passengers were acting in concert with their pilot.’
The barrister continued: ‘It was not merely the context or the setting… it was the ongoing act of facilitation at the time of their deaths that created the circumstances leading to the fatalities.’
A total of 39 survivors were rescued and brought to shore at the port of Dover after a UK fishing vessel crew discovered the sinking dinghy with assistance from the RNLI, air ambulance, and UK Border Force.
Three of the deceased were identified only as unknown male individuals, while the fourth man was named as Hajratullah Ahmadi, a 31-year-old married individual from Afghanistan who had a six-year-old daughter at the time of his passing.
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