• Contact
  • Jobs
Thursday, July 3, 2025
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
Diplomatic Watch
  • About Us
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Interview
    • Contact
  • Diplomacy
    • Appointments
  • Economy
  • Regions
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
  • Business
  • Politics & Policy
  • Opinion
  • Events
  • News Update
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Technology
  • About Us
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Interview
    • Contact
  • Diplomacy
    • Appointments
  • Economy
  • Regions
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
  • Business
  • Politics & Policy
  • Opinion
  • Events
  • News Update
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Technology
No Result
View All Result
Diplomatic Watch
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture & Tourism

Four Get Long Jail Terms In Hungary For Deaths Of 71 Migrants

Victor Gotevbe by Victor Gotevbe
June 14, 2018
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

ALSO READ

Azerbaijan Embassy Hosts Independence Day Celebration for  Diaspora in Washington D.C.

Azerbaijan Embassy Hosts Independence Day Celebration for Diaspora in Washington D.C.

June 4, 2025
Dubai’s Transformation: From Desert Sands to a Top Global Destination

Dubai’s Transformation: From Desert Sands to a Top Global Destination

June 3, 2025
The shocking case drew attention to the suffering of migrants smuggled to Europe

Four men have received 25-year jail terms in Hungary over the deaths of 71 migrants who suffocated in a sealed lorry in August 2015.

Police found the victims’ decomposing bodies in the lorry, registered in Hungary and abandoned near an Austrian village. The case shocked the world.

Fourteen alleged gang members, mostly Bulgarians, went on trial.

In 2015 Central Europe faced a huge influx of migrants, many of them fleeing Syria and other conflict zones.

The accused, on trial in the city of Kecskemet, all denied belonging to a criminal people-smuggling organisation and expressed remorse.

What happened and who were the victims?

The victims came from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. They included eight women and four children; the other 59 were men. All but one were identified.

Who died in the lorry?

71 victims

59 men, 8 women, 4 children

  • 29 from Iraq, mainly Iraqi Kurdistan including towns of Dohuk and Zakho
  • 21 from Afghanistan
  • 15 from Syria, including from town of Qamishly
  • 1 still unidentified
Crammed into the back of a small Volvo meat lorry, with standing room only, the 71 victims are believed to have suffocated less than three hours after it set off.

They died on a scorching hot day while the lorry was still in Hungary. It was found near Parndorf, just across the border in Austria.

The lorry, emblazoned with pictures of sausages and a chicken’s head, had been sealed airtight.

Afghan defendant Samsoor LahooAFP:The alleged ringleader is an Afghan denied refugee status

What were the charges?

According to the prosecution, the smugglers knew that the migrants squeezed into the back were going to die, and they ignored the sound of them banging on the sealed interior, as the oxygen ran out.

The alleged ringleader is Samsoor Lahoo, a 31-year-old Afghan. The evidence produced against him included a phone-tap recording in which he allegedly ordered the driver to keep going despite the victims’ cries for help.

Three of the 14 defendants are still at large and were tried in absentia. Nine Bulgarians, Mr Lahoo and a Lebanese national were in court.

Besides the murder charges levelled against four, all the defendants were charged with human trafficking and torture.

Prosecutors say the group was charging migrants up to €3,500 (£3,100; $4,100) per head and had planned two more smuggling journeys for 27 August – the day after the bodies were found.

What was the reaction?

The tragedy fuelled an outpouring of sympathy for refugees and migrants, and was a catalyst in the decision in August 2015 to open borders and allow them to head on towards Germany. In 2015-2016 about one million were allowed to stay in Germany – a highly controversial decision.

But as the crisis continued into 2016 Austria’s then foreign minister and now Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, played a key role in shutting down the Balkan route used by migrants.

Barriers went up, including a formidable razor-wire fence on Hungary’s southern border, completed in April 2017.

Source: BBC

ADVERTISEMENT
Victor Gotevbe

Victor Gotevbe

Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief
Member, The National Press Club

Related Posts

Azerbaijan Embassy Hosts Independence Day Celebration for  Diaspora in Washington D.C.
Culture & Tourism

Azerbaijan Embassy Hosts Independence Day Celebration for Diaspora in Washington D.C.

June 4, 2025
Dubai’s Transformation: From Desert Sands to a Top Global Destination
Culture & Tourism

Dubai’s Transformation: From Desert Sands to a Top Global Destination

June 3, 2025

Women In Diplomacy Event

Diplomatic Watch Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsPKAllVewE

Subscribe To Newsletter

Young Diplomats Forum

Young Diplomats Forum
ADVERTISEMENT

About us

Diplomatic Watch Magazine is a premium publication that covers news, analysis, and opinion on global diplomacy, international relations, and foreign policy.

Category

  • Business & Investment (137)
  • Culture & Tourism (133)
  • Diplomacy (1,110)
    • Appointments (35)
  • Economy (97)
  • Editorial (3)
  • Events (201)
  • Interview (55)
  • News Update (315)
    • Fashion & Lifestyle (15)
      • Look Your Best With Jane Pennewell (7)
    • Health (12)
    • Sports (21)
    • Technology (54)
  • Opinion (47)
  • Photo Gallery (10)
  • Politics & Policy (87)
  • Regions (261)
    • Africa (53)
    • Americas (58)
    • Asia (96)
    • Europe (87)
    • Middle East (28)
    • Oceania (23)

Contact Us

Diplomatic Watch HQ

  • – 1218 16th St NW, (5th Floor) Washington, DC 20036, USA
  • – Maryland
  • – Lagos
  • – Abuja

Contact Information

  • Tel: +12407979135
  • Email: info@diplomaticwatch.com
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2024 Diplomatic Watch Magazine - All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Interview
    • Contact
  • Diplomacy
    • Appointments
  • Economy
  • Regions
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Oceania
  • Business
  • Politics & Policy
  • Opinion
  • Events
  • News Update
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Technology