Story highlights Boat disaster off coast of Libya killed up to 900 migrants last year

Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian, was found guilty of causing wreck

(CNN) An Italian court has jailed the captain of a migrant boat that sank in 2015, killing some 900 people in the Mediterranean's worst disaster since World War II.

Judges in the Sicilian port city of Catania ruled Tuesday that Mohammed Ali Malek, a 28-year-old Tunisian, was responsible for the disaster.

They ordered him to serve 18 years in prison for charges of multiple manslaughter, human trafficking and causing the tragedy, according to reports from AFP news agency.

Mahmud Bikhit, 26, a Syrian accused of being his first mate, was handed a 5-year sentence.

Each was also ordered to pay 9 million euros ($9.5m US) in compensation, according to a press statement from the court.

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