United Nations experts on Friday urged Malta to end the unjustified prosecution of three boys known as the “El Hiblu 3” on terrorism charges that could carry life sentences. Amara Krumak, Abdalla Bari and Kone Tiemoko Abdul Kader were among over 100 migrants rescued in March 2019 by the oil tanker El Hiblu 1 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe. Panic ensued after the rescued migrants realised they were being returned to Libya, where they were at risk of serious human rights violations. The experts also expressed concern that the European Union’s naval operation in the Mediterranean had coordinated with the El Hiblu 1 and the Libyan authorities in an attempt to facilitate the refoulement of migrants to Libya. The forcible return of migrants to Libya would violate the core legal obligation of non-refoulement,” they said.

Source: Libya Today January 26, 2026 14:01 UTC