The judge at the District Court in Western Australia state said the sentence was meant to deter other Indonesians from becoming people smugglers.
Hasanusi, a 41-year-old fisherman who like many Indonesians uses just one name, pleaded not guilty to illegally bringing 38 asylum seekers from Iraq and Kuwait to Australia's remote Christmas Island last April.
Hasanusi claimed he had been hired to take the group on a fishing trip and was forced to come to the Australian territory fearing he would be thrown overboard otherwise.
A jury rejected the claim and convicted him last month.
Judge Allan Fenbury said it was clear the fisherman knew what was planned from the beginning, though he noted that Hasanusi was lured into crime by an organized trafficking operation.
“You are a simple uneducated fisherman from Indonesia,” Fenbury said. “It must have been the money that made you do this. The people smugglers will always prey upon people like you who need the money.” Hasanusi was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison with a minimum of 3 1/2 years before good behavior can apply. The maximum penalty was 20 years.
