ISTANBUL // Two alleged people-smugglers are on trial in Turkey accused of causing the death of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi and four other people.
The image of the boy — his lifeless body lying face down on a beach in Bodrum — galvanised world attention on the refugee crisis, graphically illustrating the magnitude of the suffering and the treacherous journeys refugees risk.
The trial of Syrian nationals Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad opened at the criminal court in Bodrum, the Dogan news agency reported. If convicted, they face up to 35 years in jail.
The victims, which include Aylan's elder brother Galip and his mother Rihan, were among some one million people who last year sought to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey in a bid to reach Greece.
But with the migrants crammed into unstable boats and equipped with substandard life jackets, the crossing is fraught with danger and like many others their bid hit disaster.
Dogan reported that Aylan Kurdi's father, Abdullah Kurdi, who survived the sinking of the boat, is also on trial in absentia over his role in the disaster. It was not immediately clear what charges he faces.
Mr Kurdi, from the mainly Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani on the Turkish border, is currently believed to be outside of Turkey.
Dogan confirmed he was not in court but the two Syrian suspects, who are currently in custody, were brought to the court by the police.
Turkey has become the major waypoint for Syrian, Afghan, Iraqi, Eritrean and other refugees and migrants seeking to undertake the risky crossing to the European Union in a flow that has caused alarm across the continent.
The Turkish government struck a deal with the EU in November to halt the flow of refugees, in return for €3 billion (Dh12.4bn) in financial assistance.
But the deal and wintry weather in the Mediterranean do not appear to have deterred refugees, with boats still arriving on Greek islands daily.
* Agence France-Presse
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