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BGH ruling of November 14, 2019 At the beginning of 2016, the young Afghan man crossed from the Turkish port city of Bodrum to Greece. Together with around seventy other refugees, he crossed the #Mediterranean. But the boat was old, overloaded, and the smugglers inexperienced. The boat capsized, killing 35 people. He survived and later traveled on to Germany. Soon after, he was charged with "aiding and abetting the smuggling of foreigners resulting in death." The accusation: He had agreed to act as a "contact person" for two Afghan women traveling alone and their four children. All six of them died in the accident. In 2018, the regional court sentenced him to one and a half years' probation. Rightly so, the highest German criminal judges in #Karlsruhe have now decided. Because the promise to serve as a male companion promotes and facilitates the work of the #smugglers. They did not have to look for another person. This meant that the young man was both victim and perpetrator in one.