A survivor rescued in the central Mediterranean has described repeated interception, detention, and extortion in Libya under European Union–funded migration control. His experience shows how EU cooperation with Libyan authorities repeatedly returns migrants to trafficking, forced labor, and ransom systems.

Interceptions that return people to Libya’s detention system

An 18-year-old Egyptian, referred to as Omar, reached safety in late November after the humanitarian vessel Humanity 1 rescued him at sea. The rescue marked his seventh attempt to cross the Mediterranean in 2025. On four occasions, the Libyan coastguard intercepted his boat. Tunisian authorities stopped the vessel and handed those onboard to Libyan authorities. Each interception ended with Omar’s detention in Libya.

Libyan authorities imprisoned Omar until his family paid a ransom for his release. Demands ranged from 2,000 to 16,000 Libyan dinars. When his relatives struggled to pay, guards beat detainees, withheld food, and prolonged detention.

Omar described extreme overcrowding and routine violence. At Bir al-Ghanam, an unofficial detention site south-west of Tripoli, guards packed hundreds of people into cells with no room to sit. Guards entered the cells at all hours to beat detainees. The US State Department has flagged the site for arbitrarily detaining migrant children.

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