German court jails human trafficker over deadly bus crash

A Syrian-born human trafficker who crashed a minibus last year, killing seven migrants, was Tuesday jailed for 15 years.

The Mercedes vehicle packed with 22 people sped up to avoid police in the Bavaria region close to the Austrian border, before the driver lost control and the vehicle flipped over several times.

The seven dead included a six-year-old child, while other passengers suffered injuries including one who was left with permanent brain damage. The passengers were from Turkey and Syria.

A court in the southern town of Traunstein found the driver, identified only as Samer A.O., guilty of charges including negligent homicide and people smuggling with fatal consequences, a court spokeswoman said.

Prosecutors had called for the man, who was 24 at the time of the offence in October last year, to be convicted of murder and handed a life sentence.

The Syrian-born driver survived the accident with only minor injuries, according to public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk.

Three other defendants, accused of helping the convicted man by scouting the area for police patrols, are also on trial.

The accident came amid a surge in migrant arrivals in Germany last year which reignited a fierce immigration debate and boosted support for the far right.

The backlash against rising immigration has led to Germany tightening border controls with all neighbouring countries and curbing benefits for asylum seekers.

During the incident, the driver accelerated the vehicle, which was only meant to carry nine people, to speeds of up to 180 kilometres per hour to avoid the road check by federal police.

The minivan then took a motorway exit between the towns of Ampfing and Waldkraiburg before crashing. It was left crumpled with its windshield shattered, and the wreckage blocked the motorway to Munich for several hours.