Man appears in court over English Channel dinghy deaths

A man arrested in connection with the deaths of more than 20 people who were attempting to cross the English Channel in a dinghy has appeared in court.

Harem Ahmed Abwbaker, 32, allegedly offered money to the families of migrants who drowned to stay silent, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

He is accused of being a member of a gang which conspired to transport the migrants to the UK last November.

He was allegedly the "right-hand man" to the leader of the trafficking gang.

The incident on 24 November 2021 is considered to be one of the worst migrant tragedies in the Channel.

Crown Prosecution Service lawyer Michael McHardy said Mr Abwbaker and another person were identified by survivors and victims' families as being the leaders of the organised criminal gang.

The court heard victims paid £2,680 ($3,200) each for the journey and Mr Abwbaker was alleged to be the person responsible for getting them on to the boat.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said 27 people had died in the crossing in November 2021, but the court heard 25 bodies had been recovered by the French Navy when the boat capsized.

It said Mr Abwbaker would face charges of the "French equivalent of manslaughter" and facilitating illegal immigration.

Just two of the migrants on board survived after the boat sank and four people are still missing, the NCA said.

At Westminster Magistrates' Court, Mr Abwbaker - who spoke through an interpreter and gave his address as the Ramada Hotel in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - stated he did not consent to his extradition to France.

Mr Abwbaker, who was arrested on Tuesday, has an asylum application lodged in the UK.

Mr McHardy said a French accusation warrant had been issued for seven offences alleged to have taken place between 2018 and June 2022.

The court heard Mr Abwbaker's phone was found at the site of the launch on 23 November last year, the day before the incident, and tracked to Germany on 26 November.

Mr Abwbaker's extradition hearing was listed for one day on 3 April at Westminster Magistrates' Court at 10:00 and the judge said it would go ahead even in his absence.

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring told the defendant if he was eventually convicted of the crimes he is accused of he could go to prison "for a very long time".