Trial has begun for two smugglers who are accused with deliberate negligence which caused for a rubber boat carrying people seeking to migrate in the island of Kos to sink at Bodrum killing the three-year-old Aylan Kurdi and other refugees.
The death of Aylan Kurdi, who was found with his face down on the shore of Aegan resort in Turkey, has galvanized the world to look at the situation of refugees in the country. As reported by ABC, Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad have begun trial and may face 35 years in prison if proven guilty of human smuggling.
The defendants are accused of organizing a trip on board a rubber boat to take refugees to the Island of Kos in September 2015. However, according to Ansa Med, not all passengers made it across alive as an incident ensued that killed Aylan Kurdi, his brother Galip, their mother Rehan, and two other refugees.
According to Aylan's father, Abdullah, the incident in the boat started when water started rushing in approximately 500 meters off the shore. As reported by The Guardian, the boat sank despite their best efforts to keep it afloat. Abdullah said that he tried to hold on to his family, but the chaos separated them, and eventually left him as the sole survivor of the tragic ride which was supposed to bring them safety.
"I was holding my wife's hand. But my children slipped through my hands. It was dark and everyone was screaming," Abdullah narrated.
He also gave a message to Arab countries to help the refugees. "I want from Arab governments, not European countries, to see my children, and because of them to help people," he said.
An investigation is currently on going pertaining to the death of refugees. And although trial has begun for Alabash and Alfrhad, Turkish authorities suspect that six other people were involved, four of which is still currently at large.
