Drowned Alan Kurdi: Two Syrian men jailed for refugee smuggling

Two Syrian smugglers have been jailed for four years by a Turkish court in relation to the death of Syrian refugee child Alan Kurdi and four others. Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad were convicted of people smuggling, but the court acquitted them of causing death "through deliberate negligence".

Both men faced up to 35 years behind bars. They pleaded not guilty last month and were tried in Bodrum, the Turkish city where the three-year-old was discovered.

The image of toddler Alan lying face down on a beach in September 2015 pierced the international conscience and focused attention on the refugee crisis. Alan died alongside his mother, Rihan, and five-year-old brother, Galib. His father, Abdullah, survived. The boat they were travelling on capsized as they embarked on a perilous crossing from Turkey to Greece.

The sentencing comes just days ahead of a summit between Turkey and the EU in Brussels to discuss the migrant crisis.