The Calabrian coastal town of Cutro
on Wednesday marked the second anniversary of the February 26
shipwreck in which at least 94 refugees and migrants including
35 children and teens lost their lives.
On the initiative of local online newspaper CrotoneNews,
residents gathered on the beach to remember when a fishing boat
thought to be carrying 180 people ran aground at 4:30 am two
years ago and broke up in stormy seas a short distance from the
shore after four days' sailing from Turkey.
Elly Schlein, the leader of the largest opposition member the
Democratic Party (PD), attended the vigil, among with PD
lawmakers Nicola Irto, Nico Stumpo and MEP Sandro Ruotolo, the
vice president of the Italian Bishop Conference (CEI), Mons.
Francesco Savino, bishop of Cassano allo Ionio, as well as the
victims' family members and survivors.
"There is a political question that is still waiting for an
answer for the victims of this case and for their families: why
weren't rescue services deployed?", said Schlein.
"It was fundamental to be here this year as well to commemorate
the 94 victims beside their families and to ask, together with
them, for truth and justice", added the PD leader.
80 people survived the tragedy and several people could still be
missing.
Local prosecutors opened an investigation into the shipwreck
amid claims the Italian authorities did not do enough to prevent
it from happening.
Last December, a court in the Calabrian city of Crotone
sentenced three alleged migrant smugglers to terms of between 11
and 16 years in prison over their involvement in the shipwreck.
The court sentenced Hasab Hussain, a 22-year-old Pakistani, to
16 years in prison, along with Sami Fuat, a 51-year-old Turkish
citizen, while Khalid Arslan, 26, also from Pakistan, was given
a jail term of 11 years on charges of aiding and abetting
illegal immigration and, as a consequence, causing the
passengers' death.
In February, Gun Ufuk, a 29-year-old Turk who was one of the
human traffickers on the Summer Love migrant boat that sank off
Cutro was given a 20-year prison term by a Crotone judge.
He was also sentenced to pay a fine of three million euros.
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