UK: Egyptian sentenced to 3 years in prison for driving migrant boat

A British court on Friday sentenced an Egyptian man to three years and two months in prison for aiding and abetting illegal immigration after he photographed him driving a boat of migrants crossing the canal.

Reda Hamoud Abdurabo, 25, who was on trial at Salisbury Court (South England), was arrested in July 2022 when he arrived in the UK after illegally crossing the Channel.

On his phone, which was seized by British authorities, selfies were found showing him piloting an inflatable boat.

The man “took charge of a small, dangerously loaded boat with about fifty migrants on board,” the interior ministry wrote in a press release.

“Photos taken shortly before the inflatable boat was intercepted by border forces and show (Reda Hammoud) Abdurabu posing with his hand on a tiller as he steers the boat towards the United Kingdom,” the ministry added.

“Risking lives by ferrying men, women and children across the canal in rubber boats will not be tolerated, and we will continue to work tirelessly to end these completely unnecessary crossings and ensure that those responsible are jailed,” commented Immigration Secretary Robert. Generic.

Reda Hamoud Abdurabou was convicted of assisting illegal immigration to the United Kingdom and attempting to enter the country illegally.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made the fight against illegal immigration a priority and has promised to stop Channel crossings, which have risen sharply in recent years.

More than 20,000 migrants will arrive on English shores by 2023.

The government has taken a number of controversial measures, including banning illegal asylum seekers. He also wants to send migrants to Rwanda wherever they come from, which has been blocked by the courts.

Despite these measures, the number of asylum seekers awaiting a decision reached a new record in the United Kingdom at the end of June (more than 175,000), unable to absorb the influx.