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World

Lawyer says father thought son was to be brought into Spain legally, not smuggled in suitcase

Associated Press
Published | Updated

MADRID – A lawyer for an Ivory Coast man jailed for allegedly trying to have his 8-year-old son smuggled into Europe in a suitcase says the man knew nothing of the plan, believing the child would be brought to Spain by car with a legal visa.

Ali Ouattara was jailed May 7 when border guards in Ceuta, a Spanish city enclave in North Africa, scanned a case being carried by a Moroccan woman and found his son curled up inside. The images shocked many and seemed to highlight the harrowing plight of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Lawyer Francesco Luca Caronna said Wednesday that Ouattara paid an unidentified group 5,000 euros ($5,600) for what he thought was a legal visa and was unaware the child was to be put in a case.