#Migrants #illtreated #Libya #EUbacked #wiretaps
Godwin risked everything for a better life in Europe, but he was arrested and ransomed in Libya by European Union-backed authorities accused of “extreme abuse” against captured migrants.
The 34-year-old Nigerian had paid €1,100 for a seat on an overcrowded ship sailing from the Libyan port of Zawiya towards Italian shores along the world’s deadliest migration route.
“It was night when I got on the boat, it was already dark. I didn’t know (where we were going),” he said, using only his first name. “I just wanted to go to Europe and have a good life.”
Those hopes were dashed when a Libyan patrol boat approached.
Godwin said he was so reluctant to avoid returning to Libya that he was considering throwing himself into the sea.
However, he was arrested and dragged back to Libya, where he was only released after his family paid a ransom of 550 euros.
This is far from the only case.
Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said about 32,450 people were intercepted by Libyan forces last year and “returned to arbitrary detention and ill-treatment” in the war-ravaged country, while European countries turned a blind eye.
HRW accused EU border protection agency Frontex of using a drone to provide intelligence that would “facilitate interception and return to Libya… (despite) overwhelming evidence of torture and exploitation of migrants and refugees”.
The migrant-run Twitter account @RefugeesinLibya regularly posts images of refugees who are believed to have been killed or tortured by Libyan forces to extort money from their families.
Refugees in the country were “tortured, dehumanized and disadvantaged in all forms with European taxpayers’ money,” a recent tweet said.
That aligns with a report by United Nations experts in October, which said acts of “murder, enslavement, torture, detention (and) rape” against detained migrants in Libya could constitute crimes against humanity.
– Malta abandons vulnerable boats –
None of this has stopped European Union funding and close cooperation with the Libyan Coast Guard to prevent migrants from reaching the northern Mediterranean shores.
The allegations against Europe are not limited to financial support.
Alarm Phone, a group that runs a hotline for migrants in need of rescue, this month accused Malta of failing to launch operations to rescue migrants at risk “despite its obligation to do so under international law”.
“Alarm Phone has seen this no-aid policy in action countless times,” it said, accusing Malta of abandoning “boats at risk of capsizing” within the island’s search and rescue zone.
From early January to August 20, nearly 13,000 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea were intercepted and detained back in Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Some were arrested, others were sent home or simply allowed out of the overcrowded detention centers.
Another 918 were either dead or missing.
Libyan authorities deny reports that migrants are being mistreated.
“The arrests are being carried out in accordance with current rules,” said a migration official.
– ‘No work, no food’ –
But many argue that the long years of lawlessness since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime dictator Muamer Gaddafi in 2011 have left the country prey to armed groups and human traffickers.
“Human rights? There are no human rights in Libya,” said Hussein, another migrant stuck in Tripoli.
The 26-year-old from Sudan said he tried to reach Europe by night crossing by boat in 2017.
“The Libyan Coast Guard caught us and sent us back,” he said.
He was held for a day before he managed to escape, he said.
He urged African countries to “take care of their people” and discourage them from leaving “instead of European countries funding Libya to stop migration.”
But despite the risks, both Godwin and Hussein said they were saving money for another attempt to reach Europe.
They spoke to AFP while waiting at the side of the road, hoping to pick up some work for the day – for a pittance.
“Now I’m just in Libya suffering, there’s no work, no food, nothing,” said Godwin, who wore a paint-stained T-shirt and gray cap.
“I’m tired of this life I’m living here.”
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#Migrants #illtreated #Libya #EUbacked #wiretaps
