Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a renowned humanitarian organisation, revealed alarming statistics regarding the plight of migrants in Libya. According to their latest report, a staggering 61% of migrants under their care have experienced torture in Libya, with 20% of these individuals also suffering from sexual torture.
The Italian news agency ANSA conveyed insights from Carmela Verga, a psychologist actively involved in MSF’s project supporting migrants and refugees who have survived violence and torture. Verga detailed the harrowing experiences of those aided by MSF, stating that, “punches, kicks, beatings with batons, whipping with thick cables, bastinado, burning, and sexual torture are the forms of violence these individuals endure.”
MSF highlighted that detention facilities are the primary locations for such acts of violence. Verga elaborated on the devastating impact of torture, which is committed with the intention of destroying an individual’s identity. She explained that physical pain not only causes immediate suffering but also revives painful memories.
From January 2021 to September 2023, the project attended to 194 individuals, with 57 accepted in the first nine months of 2023 alone. Of these, 61% reported experiencing torture in Libya, 37% in their home countries, and the remaining 2% during their transit in other countries. Furthermore, 58% of the violence occurred in detention facilities, with 20% of the patients reporting sexual torture.
This report by MSF underscores the dire circumstances faced by migrants in Libya and the urgent need for international attention and intervention to address these human rights violations.
On Tuesday, the Libyan Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Illegal Immigration Unit announced the repatriation of around a thousand migrants who entered the country illegally back to Egypt and Nigeria.
According to the Unit’s official, Colonel Mohammed Bredi’a, two trips were conducted, the first via an air journey transporting migrants from Tripoli to Nigeria. The second involved migrants, predominantly Egyptian nationals, traveling by land to the Amssad border crossing shared between Libya and Egypt.
A total of 964 migrants were deported, including 664 Egyptians and 300 Nigerians, as reported by Bredi’a.
Hundreds of migrants, including women and children, dressed in distinctive black and white uniforms, lined up before being transported to large halls where they were provided with water and basic personal supplies in small bags. Subsequently, they were transported by buses to Mitiga International Airport and the Amssad land crossing.
Libya, divided between competing authorities in the east and west, has become a focal point for tens of thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe via the perilous sea route.
Many migrants attempt the journey to Europe through Libyan territory, risking their lives. However, thousands have been living in Libya irregularly for years, working in agriculture, construction, and trade, especially around the capital.