Italian school bus hijacker sentenced to 24 years in jail

An Italian driver originally from Senegal who hijacked his bus with 50 schoolchildren onboard and set it ablaze to protest migrant deaths has been sentenced to 24 years jail, local media reported on Wednesday.

A Milan court sentenced Ousseynou Sy after he was found guilty of forced confinement with terrorist intent and prosecutors had demanded the 24 year sentence, media said.

Sy had driven his school bus with 51 pupils onboard towards Milan airport in March last year as he was transporting the 12-13 year olds to school in Crema, east of Milan.

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This undated photo handout by the Italian Carabinieri Press Office on March 21, 2019 shows driver Ousseynou Sy, a 47-year-old Italian citizen of Senegalese origin, after his arrest. (AFP)

Police blocked the bus and the children managed to escape through a back window that has been smashed by security forces.

Sy said at the time he had heard the voices of drowned migrant children urging him to take action, according to media reports.

Italy has been a major destination for illegal migrants trying to reach Europe from the coast of North Africa, and many have drowned in the Mediterranean attempting to make the crossing.

Two of the boys on Sy’s bus, an Egyptian and a Moroccan, were given Italian nationality in 2019 in recognition of their bravery in helping others escape.

(FromL) Niccolo, Fabio, Aurora, Adam and Rami, the five children who helped to save other children during the March 20 Milan bus attack, pose with their medals handovered by Italian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Salvini in Rome, March 27, 2019. (AFP)