Remember the story we reported last year about the French family who were arrested and jailed on remand for the death of their yacht captain? Well, the case has just been brought to court and three of the family members have been sentenced for their part in the death of their Moroccan captain.

The story began in August last year when the Bassario family hired a Moroccan captain to take them on a ‘blue cruise’ leaving from Finike near Anatalya. During the trip an argument broke out when the yachts small dingy was lost. According to the testimonies in court the captain drew a knife and wounded two of the male members of the family. Following the wounding the family overpowered the captain, tied him up and locked him in a cupboard until they arrived in Fethiye’s Ege Saray Marina. When they landed they called for an ambulance but the captain was already dead. According to forensic evidence presented to the court, his death resulted from suffocation.

The court sentenced three members of the family on Friday for their part in the death of the captain. They were each sentenced to one year, one month and ten days in prison. However, according to Turkish law, the prison term was then converted to a fine of 8,100 YTL (£3,000), which if paid, means no imprisonment.