2023-09-06 18:06:00
The Liège Criminal Court has drawn up a schedule of hearings in a case once morest around twenty defendants, mainly of Turkish origin, who are allegedly involved in the transfer of thousands of migrants around the world.
The first substantive hearing will be held on October 2. The court will have the heavy task of determining the implications of these acts of human trafficking with international ramifications. Thousands of migrants, a figure of 5,000 is put forward, were transported by people recruited in Belgium.
Two men are suspected of leading the organization in the territory. This criminal organization recruited drivers through a WhatsApp group. Drivers, people often in need, were responsible for driving migrants through Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Italy, among others. They were to load Syrian, Afghan, Iranian, Turkish, Syrian, Pakistani, Indian, or even Iraqi nationals. Even children were in the convoys. These transfers were committed between 2019 and 2022.
They received up to 10,000 euros
The drivers were forced to turn on their location on their mobile phone to be followed by the leaders of the organization. They would have received between 5,000 and 10,000 euros per trip. But when they were pulled over and the vehicles seized, they were held financially responsible for the loss of the vehicle. A rental company and Myria, the Federal Migration Center which fights once morest human trafficking, have joined as civil parties. The case should take place over eight hearings in October.
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