The Libyan Foreign Ministry of Parliament-designate government announced the launch of an international campaign in solidarity with Libyan youth athletes detained in Italy.
They have been arrested while attempting to pursue their sporting careers, fleeing the conditions of war and instability in the country during 2015.
The ministry affirmed that numerous organizations, political figures, and academic experts participating in the international seminar on “Migration in the Mediterranean: Challenges and Opportunities” in Tangier, Morocco, expressed solidarity with Libyan youth.
They urged the United Nations Support Mission in Libya to intervene with Italian authorities to release them. They were sentenced to 30 years in prison in a trial devoid of justice and fairness, with no legal representation.
Experts and members of human rights, political, and trade union organizations from Morocco, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Senegal, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Libya declared their intention to participate in the campaign. They intend to collaborate with international human rights bodies to launch an international campaign advocating for the defence of the youth athletes, under the slogan: “Migration for Sports is Not a Crime.”
Meanwhile, the Libyan Foreign Ministry reiterated its call to Italian authorities to release these youths or hand them over to Libyan authorities in accordance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
In August 2015, four young Libyans in Sicily were sentenced by the magistrates of Catania to 30 years in prison. They were accused of organising a crossing from Libya, in which 49 migrants died.
In April 2022, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Libyan Parliament, Youssef Al-Agouri, held a virtual meeting with human rights activist and advisor to the International Crisis Group, Claudia Gazzini.
Gazzini is following up on the conditions of the youths. Sbe briefed Al-Agouri on the health, psychological, and legal conditions of the detained Libyans, and the possible ways to reduce their sentences.
The Libyan MP stressed that the Foreign Affairs Committee is ready to make all efforts to release the Libyan footballers.
“Those Libyan athletes have believed that they would find a better future in Europe, but rather, they found themselves serving a long sentence in the prisons of a foreign country far from their family and homeland,” Al-Agouri said.
In turn, Gazzini confirmed that she and a team of lawyers are seeking to appeal the case and obtain new testimonies from the migrants who were on the capsized boat.
“This is not an easy task because it requires searching for immigrants on that trip and persuading them to cooperate and give their testimonies,” she explained.
