An Italian bus driver, originally from Senegal, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for hijacking a school bus with 51 children. He wanted to protest against the death of migrants.
A court in Milan found Ousseynou Sy guilty of forced detention for terrorist purposes. The sentence imposed was in accordance with the prosecution’s requirement.
Sy drove his school bus to Milan Airport in March last year, although he should have taken his twelve- and thirteen-year-old passengers to a school in Crema. The police blocked the bus, and the children managed to escape through a rear window broken by the security services.
Sy said at the time that he had heard voices from drowned migrant children urging him to take action.
Two of the boys on the bus, an Egyptian and a Moroccan, were Italian nationals in recognition of their courage to help others escape.
Italy is a major destination for migrants trying to reach Europe from the coast of North Africa. Many refugees are drowning in the Mediterranean.
