UK jails teen asylum seeker for steering overcrowded Channel migrant boat

A 19-year-old asylum seeker has been jailed in the UK for steering an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel, in the latest prosecution under a new law targeting those who pilot boats used to smuggle migrants into Britain.

Chan Mathok Atak, from South Sudan, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court in southeast England on Friday to two years and three months, after admitting a charge of endangering others during the crossing from France.

list of 3 items

list 1 of 3More than 150 people rescued in English Channel after boat catches fire
list 2 of 3Israel deports British activist who protected Palestinian children
list 3 of 3Anti-immigration protesters clash with police in UK after boat arrival

end of list

The law, introduced in January this year, is aimed at those who steer boats that put passengers’ lives at risk, though distinct from older charges such as assisting unlawful immigration.

Prosecutors said Atak, believed to have been one of two people who took turns piloting the boat, steered the roughly 14-metre (46ft) dinghy, about the length of a bus, for at least 90 minutes on July 23 with 165 people on board, including 31 children aged between 14 and 17.

At the time, it was the largest number recorded on a single small boat crossing the Channel – before a boat carrying 230 people surpassed the record in August.

Migrants are seen on board a boat, which was operated by Chan Mathok Atak, during the crossing of the English Channel on July 23, 2026 [Handout/National Crime Agency via Reuters]

The court heard the boat had only one working engine and no navigation or first-aid equipment, and was deflating and slowly taking on water before it was intercepted by Border Force.

Although no evidence was presented that Atak organised the crossing, Judge Sarah Counsell said the offence was serious enough that “only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified”, warning that he could still face automatic deportation once his sentence ends.

Atak’s lawyer, Audrey Mogan, said there was “not a single shred of evidence” linking him to the boat’s overcrowding or its lack of safety equipment, saying her client was a young asylum seeker who had fled violence in South Sudan.

The sentencing has been seen as part of the British government’s wider crackdown on migration and Channel crossings.

The first convictions under the new law took place in June, when an Afghan and a Sudanese national were each jailed for at least two years for similar offences, as the UK looks for ways to deter the tens of thousands who attempt the crossing each year.

Home Office Minister Anna Turley said in July that “if you risk the lives of others by bringing illegal migrants to British shores on dangerous small boats, you will face justice”.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs in February that the level of crossings was “unacceptable”, saying tackling it would take “long-term, careful, painful work”.

Hundreds of protesters gathered over two days on England’s south coast earlier this month, blocking streets in response to small migrant boat arrivals, even as government figures show the number of those crossing into the country since January has fallen compared with 2025.

Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera wp:paragraph