Suspects accuse father of Aylan Kurdi of being human smuggler

Two suspected human smugglers being tried by a Turkish court over the death of several migrants - including toddler Aylan Kurdi, whose drowning shocked the world last year - have accused the father of the Syrian toddler of being human smuggler and using the boat at time of the incident. 

Two Syrian human smugglers went on trial on Feb. 11, along with two alleged people smugglers, accused of causing the death of migrants.

A photograph of the three-year-old, face down in the sand on a Turkish beach in his toddler's clothes, caused horror when it was published in September 2015 after his family decided to make the risky journey to Greece in an open boat.

Aylan's mother Rihana and his four-year-old brother Ghaleb also died in the same accident.

The trial of Syrian nationals Muwafaka Alabash and Asem Alfrhad has opened at the criminal court in the western Turkish resort of Bodrum. If convicted, they each face up to 35 years in jail.

They are charged with smuggling migrants and causing the deaths of five people, including Aylan Kurdi, his brother and his mother, when their boat sank en route to Greece.

But also on trial in absentia was Aylan Kurdi's father, Abdullah Kurdi, who survived the sinking of the boat, on accusations of being an organizer of the smuggling. The precise charges against him have not been made clear. Both of the defendants in court said Abdullah Kurdi was a well-known organizer of people smuggling in the Bodrum area, accusing him of being responsible for the deaths and driving the boat at the time of the disaster.

"The real criminal here, the organizer, is Abdullah Kurdi, who became a hero on television but did not even testify," said Asem Alfrhad in court.

Muwafaka Alabash said he...