A Tripoli court has imposed heavy prison terms on three people convicted of human trafficking from Libya, a key North African departure point for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. They are the first convictions in Libya in human trafficking cases. The court found the three guilty of “trafficking in human beings” and having “detained and tortured” illegal migrants and extorted their relatives to pay ransoms to free them, the statement said. Libya was plunged into years of chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed strongman Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, helping to turn the country into a fertile ground for human trafficking. In a March report, a United Nations fact-finding mission on human rights in Libya found that some migrants trapped there had been subject to sexual slavery — a crime against humanity.

Source: Libya Today July 08, 2023 09:20 UTC