More than 300 migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan were reportedly kidnapped, tortured and threatened with forced organ removal while attempting to reach Europe through Libya, according to a recent investigation. The case highlights the extreme dangers migrants face on routes through Libya. Armed groups, traffickers and criminal networks in Libya continue to profit from people seeking safety and opportunity abroad.

Certainly, the migrants’ accounts are a chilling reminder that migration journeys can quickly become situations of exploitation, extortion and modern slavery. 

“We didn’t see the sun for six months”  

The migrants arrived in Libya expecting to meet with people smugglers. Instead, on arrival, they were taken to a guarded compound and imprisoned. Survivors say they were then held by a Libyan militia for months.

In addition to what they had already paid to be taken to Europe, a $5,000 ransom was demanded from each hostage’s family. Further, those who could not pay were allegedly told their relative would have their kidney removed. 

Ben Milne and Sue Mitchell from the BBC reported: 

The Libyans also sent photos and videos of the hostages, many of which were distressing or violent. In one, a young man was filmed while being told he was being taken to a doctor to have his kidney removed.

Captors allegedly sent photographs and videos showing hostages being beaten and threatened.

The local man who approached us in Ranya said he had paid the ransom… However, he showed a photo he said his son had sent while in captivity, displaying a raw scar they feared was from a forced organ removal.

According to survivors, detainees slept sitting upright because there was no room to lie down. Nearly 180 people shared a single toilet, and those who took too long were beaten. Another survivor showed burns on his leg that he said were caused by torture. 

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