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Men sentenced to 125 years over death of Syrian boy Alan Kurdi

Photo shows the coffin of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian migrant boy who drowned at sea in 2015. (Photo/CNN)

Three human traffickers have been sentenced by a Turkish court to 125 years each in prison over the death of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi in 2015.

The tragic drowning in 2015 of Alan, who was pictured lying face down on a beach in a harrowing photo later became the symbol of the refugee crisis.

The 3-year-old's body washed up on a beach in Bodrum, in southern Turkey, after a boat carrying refugees sank off the coast. An officer was pictured carrying the lifeless child away. The boy's family had been trying to reach relatives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The men, the organizers of a trafficking ring, were captured by Turkish security forces this week in the southern province of Adana and sentenced on Friday, according to state news agency Andalou.

They were on the run after fleeing during their trial. Other Turkish and Syrian defendants also received prison sentences following the toddler's death in September 2015.

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