Rabat – One man writhes on the ground as molten plastic is dripped over his back: this is a scene from a graphic new YouTube video that surfaced on Saturday, January 20.
However, scenes such as this are not unique. In late 2017, several videos featuring similarly gruesome footage surfaced on social media, all showing African migrants being tortured by their allegedly Libyan captors.
Social media users and human rights organizations broke their silences to denounce the incidents against migrants.
Amnesty International took to its Twitter on January 10 to say, “torture, detention, exploitation and rape are daily horrors for many refugees and migrants in Libya.” Denouncing Europe’s migration police, Amnesty added, “but instead of ending these abuses, Europe is helping Libya to trap people in hell.”
Morocco World News cannot share the videos due to their graphic content.
International media has been reporting that the Libyan government has denied complicity in slavery and human trafficking.
Torture, detention, exploitation and rape are daily horrors for many refugees and migrants in #Libya. But instead of ending these abuses, Europe is helping Libya to trap people in hell. Take action now: https://t.co/ixyn5aivG3 pic.twitter.com/z9mzbYBMwK
— Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) January 19, 2018
In a blistering rebuke, Amnesty International called European governments “complicit in horrific abuse of refugees and migrants.”
This report was subsequently referenced in a tweet by British parliamentarian Diane James:
EU Govts are knowingly complicit in the torture & abuse of tens of thousands of refugees & migrants detained by Libyan immigration authorities in appalling conditions said Amnesty International in a report published in the wake of global outrage over the sale of migrants in Libya
Another Twitter user claimed that Libya’s coast guard knows about the torture, abuse, and smuggling of migrants.
What’s worse is #Libya‘s coast guard is itself complicit in the torture, abuse and smuggling of #migrants. https://t.co/IJU5E0Q1Ts
— Emad Badi (@emad_badi) January 18, 2018
The torture of an african migrants in libya…
Escaping poverty,,drougth,cruelity and hardship at home,only to… https://t.co/JiTkx1frHV— DR johderrick biden (@johderrick) January 16, 2018
Earlier this week, Libya’s Foreign Ministry called on law enforcement to investigate the videos that show migrants being abused.
A statement by the ministry, quoted by Xinhua News Agency, said that “”we confirm that instructions have been issued by the Presidential Council to permanently investigate any indecent acts against the dignity of African migrants.”
Earlier today, Libya’s law enforcement arrested a gang accused of kidnapping and abusing Sudanese migrants near the northern city of Sirte, reported Modern Ghana.
According to the source, the gang consists of “five Libyans and one Palestinian.” Sirte Security and Protection Force said that the gang has abused eight migrants.
Hundreds of migrants, including Moroccans, who dreamt of crossing to Europe through Libya, remain trapped in dire conditions in detention centers across Libya.
In December 2017, several videos filmed by detained Moroccans were widely shared on social media, revealing the horrific conditions they faced in Libyan prisons. The trapped migrants cried for help and urged the Moroccan government to take immediate action to bring them back home.
In response, Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs took urgent measures to repatriate its citizens from Libya. In December, 235 Moroccan migrants detained in Libya were repatriated to their homeland, the first of several operations carried out by the Moroccan government before the end of 2017.
