Australia sentences 11 RI people smugglers

Western Australia state District Court Judge Stephen Scott sentenced each of the skippers and crew to either five years or five years and six months in prison for people smuggling.

The federal government issued a statement welcoming the sentences as sending "a strong message that Australia will not tolerate such crimes."

The boat crews are usually fishermen driven by poverty to risk prison sentences by smuggling people for relatively lucrative fees offered by organizers, who are rarely caught by authorities.

The men, aged between 19 to 67, pleaded guilty to one charge each of people smuggling, which carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

They were aboard four boats from Indonesia that were intercepted by the Australian navy in its waters between December last year and March.

Australia has long been a destination for people from poor, often war-ravaged countries hoping to start a new life. Most of the latest asylum seekers have come from Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.

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