LONDON: An Afghan teenager appeared in a UK court on Wednesday and denied endangering dozens of lives by piloting a small boat of migrants across the Channel from France earlier this week.
Aman Naseri, 18, pleaded "not guilty" at a magistrates' court in southeastern Margate, and said he was "forced" to pilot the vessel across the busy waterway between Britain and France.
The court appearance came two days after he allegedly landed on UK shores following the first successful migrant small boat Channel crossing of 2026.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) — which decides whether to prosecute cases in England and Wales — said Naseri was charged early on Wednesday under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act, which only came into force on Monday.
Prosecutors told the court that 46 people were on the boat with Naseri.
He is the first person to be charged using the new legislation with the crime of endangering life during a small boat crossing arriving in the UK without valid entry clearance, it noted.
Anyone convicted of this offence faces up to six years behind bars.
A small number of migrants have previously been prosecuted for piloting small boats using other UK laws.
Wearing a black coat in court, the 18-year old followed proceedings through a Dari interpreter and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth during a short hearing.
He was remanded into custody to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on February 9.
The UK's centre-left Labour government is under intense pressure to stem the arrivals each year of tens of thousands of migrants aboard small boats from France.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer won power in July 2024 vowing to curb the crossings by "smashing the gangs" facilitating the perilous journeys. But last year saw 41,472 migrant arrivals — the second-highest tally on record.
According to tallies from French and British official sources, some 29 people died trying to make the perilous crossing in 2025.
Migration minister Mike Tapp insisted on Wednesday the government is "restoring order and control to our borders by cracking down on the people smugglers behind these unacceptable small boat crossings".
"Which is exactly why we have introduced new, stronger measures so that law enforcement can disrupt and dismantle suspected people smugglers faster," he added in a statement. — AFP
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