Man who tried to smuggle Iraqi family sentenced

Rasty Hassan and another man on the Induna were arrested after the yacht got into trouble off Brixham

An Iraqi national has been sentenced for breaching UK immigration laws after arriving on a yacht from France with a group of fellow migrants, including a baby.

Failed asylum seeker Rasty Hassan, 27, was intercepted off the coast of Brixham, Devon, in September 2024 aboard the 26ft (8m) yacht Induna, Plymouth Crown Court heard.

He pleaded guilty to arriving in the UK without entry clearance and to conspiring to facilitate illegal entry for others and was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years.

The yacht was carrying a family of Iraqi nationals, two parents, their 10-month-old baby, and three other children, the court heard.

A Brixham lifeboat crew launched a rescue mission on 17 September after receiving a distress call from the yacht's crew due to a mechanical issue, the court was told.

Rescuers were refused access to the vessel, which was towed nine miles to Brixham Marina where arrests were made.

In a separate hearing in March, Mohamed Bedah, a 39-year-old Palestinian national who was also on board, was jailed for eight months after being found guilty of attempting to enter the UK unlawfully.

Hassan had previously entered the UK unlawfully in 2017, but his asylum claims and appeals were rejected before he absconded, said prosecutors. Bedah had made six unsuccessful visa applications between January and August 2023.

Stella Waata from the Crown Prosecution Service said after the case: "Neither of these men had a right to live or work in the UK. That had been made clear to them repeatedly by UK authorities, so they chose to come illegally.

"Aboard the yacht was a family with a 10-month-old baby which shows just how reckless they were."

She added that close working with the Home Office and Avon and Somerset Police had secured their convictions.