Three Turkish men were sentenced this week to 125 years in jail for their part in the drowning of a boy whose death in 2015 became a worldwide symbol of the suffering caused by the Syrian war and the European refugee crisis it triggered. A photograph of the tiny body of Alan Kurdi, 2, facedown on a Turkish beach appeared on the front pages of newspapers across Europe and around the world, fueling an upsurge in public sympathy and anger at the plight of refugees. From his immediate family, only the father survived. In 2016, two Syrians, Muwafaka Alabash, 36, and Asem Alfrhad, 35, were convicted of smuggling refugees in the case. A separate investigation was initiated into the organizers of the illegal crossing.

Source: New York Times March 13, 2020 11:26 UTC