The appeals court of the Calabrian
city of Catanzaro on Wednesday upheld a 20-year prison term
issued last July 5 by a preliminary hearings judge who convicted
Mohamed Abdessalem, a 26-year-old Syrian, over his involvement
in the February 26 2023 shipwreck off the nearby coastal area of
Steccato di Cutro that caused the death of at least 94 people,
including 35 children and teens.
Abdessalem was identified by survivors as the skipper of the
Summer Love boat that sank after running aground off Steccato di
Cutro.
He faced charges of aiding and abetting illegal immigration,
culpable shipwreck and manslaughter.
Police served an arrest warrant on the 26-year-old in December
2023 in the prison of Lecce where he was being detained after an
operation carried out by DDA anti-mafia investigators.
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