The Netherlands has sentenced an Eritrean national, Amanuel Walid, to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of leading a transnational migrant smuggling network that operated through Libya.
Walid was charged with various offenses, including human smuggling, extortion, violence and money laundering. Victims were subjected to severe abuse in Libyan detention camps, while their relatives in the Netherlands were extorted for ransom, giving Dutch courts jurisdiction over the case.
Legal experts described the ruling as unprecedented, marking the first time a European country prosecuted an alleged leader of a criminal network running multiple detention camps in Libya, with prosecutors saying investigations into the wider network were still ongoing.
Eritrea:
Dutch Court Sentences Eritrean Migrant Smuggler to 20 Years
DW, 27 January 2026
A Dutch court on Tuesday sentenced Eritrean Amanuel W. to 20 years in prison in the Netherlands’ largest migrant smuggling case so far. More suspects are set to appear in court… Read more »
Libya:
Bodies of More Than 20 African Migrants Found in Mass Grave in Libya
RFI, 16 January 2026
The bodies of at least 21 migrants have been found in a mass grave on a farm in eastern Libya, security sources have said, with as many as 10 others who survived captivity showing… Read more »
Libya:
‘From the Moment They Enter Libya, Migrants Risk Being Arbitrarily Arrested, Tortured and Killed’
IPS, 23 December 2025
CIVICUS discusses migrants’ rights in Libya with Sarra Zidi, political scientist and researcher for HuMENA, an international civil society organisation (CSO) that advances… Read more »
Africa:
Latest Deadly Shipwreck Highlights Need for Safer Migration
UN News, 12 November 2025
Forty-two people are missing and presumed dead following a shipwreck off Libya – the latest fatal crossing in the Central Mediterranean, where more than 1,000 lives have been lost… Read more »
Security authorities in Libya have recovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves found in the country’s southeastern desert, in the latest tragedy involving people trying to reach Europe.
A mass grave containing 28 migrants was discovered in Kufra days after 19 bodies were discovered in a mass grave on a farm in the same city. The
Migrants near the Libyan coast (file photo).