France opens trial for 39 Vietnamese people found dead in container in UK

According toAFP news agencyThe trial of the 39 Vietnamese people who died in a container in the UK in 2019 took place in Paris today, October 17, and is expected to last until November 10.

In October 2019, British authorities discovered the bodies of 39 Vietnamese people in a refrigerated container truck parked at an industrial park in the town of Grays, Essex.

The victims, 31 men and eight women aged between 15 and 44, died of suffocation in the container as it was being transported from Belgium to Britain by ferry. They had previously travelled in a lorry from northern France to Belgium.

The trial in Paris has 19 defendants, with Vietnamese, French, Chinese, Algerian and Moroccan nationalities.

In 2021, a British court sentenced two ringleaders, a Romanian and a British national, to 27 and 20 years in prison, respectively.

Other suspects, including two drivers involved in the incident, received sentences of 12-20 years in prison.

In January 2022, a court in Belgium sentenced Vietnamese defendant Vo Van Hong (45 years old) to 15 years in prison for running the local branch of the aforementioned human trafficking ring.

The defendants in the Paris court face up to 10 years in prison for their involvement in the human trafficking gang, four of whom are also charged with involuntary manslaughter.

According to records from the calls, the defendants referred to the victims as "goods" or "chickens". The defendants include taxi drivers and the owners of apartments used as shelters for the victims in Paris.

Many of the defendants pleaded not guilty, claiming they were forced into the life of human traffickers. However, in a statement regarding the trial, French prosecutors said the defendants were motivated by money.