Dutch court jails human trafficker for migrant torture in Libya

A Dutch court sentenced an Eritrean human trafficker to 20 years in jail on January 27th after convicting him of crimes linked to the torture of migrants in Libya, according to Reuters and The Washington Post.

The Overijssel District Court found Amanuel Walid, a 42-year-old also known as Tewelde Goitom, guilty of membership of a criminal organisation, human trafficking and extortion. It ruled that Walid operated a migrant smuggling route to Europe through Libya.

Prosecutors said their investigation, covering 2014 to 2019, concluded that Walid led a criminal organisation that detained thousands of African migrants in warehouses and camps in Libya.

Migrants were tortured and “mistreated while being forced to call family members, who were pressured to transfer money for their relatives’ passage”, the court said. Presiding Judge Rene Melaard described the treatment as “merciless”, saying Walid and his co-perpetrators showed “no regard for human dignity”.

In 2022, Walid was deported to the Netherlands from Ethiopia, where he was accused of similar crimes. During his trial, he only spoke to claim mistaken identity and to invoke his right to remain silent. Judges ruled that the man in the dock was Walid.

Walid’s case was delayed by the extradition of a second suspect, Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam, whom prosecutors described as one of “the world’s most wanted” human traffickers. The 41-year-old was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Netherlands in December and is expected to stand trial at a later date, the Associated Press reported on December 24th.

Prosecutors said both cases were heard in the Netherlands because some of the alleged crimes involved extorting relatives of migrants based in the country. Under Dutch law, courts can prosecute foreign nationals for crimes committed abroad if the victims are in the Netherlands, exercising principles of universal jurisdiction.

Walid’s defence lawyers argued that there was “no clear connection to the Netherlands” and that the payments were made in Eritrea or via the UAE. The court rejected that argument.

Libya remains a key transit route for migrants seeking to reach Europe since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that led to the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Many migrants fleeing conflict and poverty have faced risks along the route.

In the southeastern town of Kufra, a major refugee hub, authorities found an illegal detention site holding over 200 migrant workers, according to media reports on January 18th.

Separate reports on January 15th  stated that officials found bodies of 21 migrants buried in a mass grave near Ajdabiya, a key transit hub in eastern Libya. Migrants found alive at the site showed signs of abuse, officials said.

Reuters, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Maghrebi.org