On Tuesday, a Dutch court sentenced an Eritrean man to 20 years in prison for running a human trafficking network in which migrants were tortured, and their families extorted.
The court said the man, identified as Amanuel Walid, treated migrants “without any humanity” while transporting them from Eritrea to Europe via Libya. “Your only objective was to make as much money as possible from people who were seeking a better future,” the presiding judge told Walid.
Members of the gang abused thousands of migrants before detaining them in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Libya, extorting large sums of money from their families.
The court in the northern Dutch city of Zwolle heard how gang members tortured victims while they were on the phone with their families in the Netherlands, demanding payments to stop the abuse.
Only after the families transferred the money were the victims put onto makeshift boats for a perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. Many drowned during the journey.
Maximum sentence
Prosecutors had sought the maximum sentence of 20 years, accusing Walid of leading a criminal organisation involved in human trafficking, extortion, hostage-taking and sexual offences.
“The court considers that the seriousness and scale of these crimes justify a 20-year sentence,” the judge said. He noted that Walid had never expressed any remorse for his actions and that a psychiatric observation centre had found him mentally fit to bear criminal responsibility.
Walid has been in custody in the Netherlands since October 2022. There is confusion over his name and age. He claims to have a different name and says he is 46 years old, not 42. He made no substantive statements in court other than denying the charges, saying it was a case of mistaken identity.
The judge rejected that claim, saying: “The court has no doubt that you are the person who carried out trafficking activities in Bani Walid in Libya.”
His lawyers also argued that he had already been tried in Ethiopia for largely similar charges and therefore could not be tried again. The judge said the sentence in the Ethiopian case had not yet been enforced, but Walid could appeal if that happened.
“Freedom and dignity”
Prosecutors believe Walid was one of the “most prolific” smugglers on the route linking conflict-torn regions of Africa to Europe via Libya.
Walid “deprived the victims of their freedom and dignity,” the prosecutor told the court. “He held them in appalling conditions, starved them, tortured them and denied them essential medical care.”
The Dutch investigation into the operation lasted several years and was carried out in cooperation with international bodies, including the International Criminal Court and Interpol.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Smugglers and human traffickers have exploited the instability, with Libya criticised over migrant conditions and human rights groups accusing the country of extortion and slavery.