Amnesty International has condemned the atrocious violations being committed against migrants returned to Libya with the cooperation of European states after trying to cross the Mediterranean.
The rights group said on Thursday that new evidence had emerged of disturbing violations, including sexual violence, against men, women and children” intercepted at sea and forcibly returned to detention centres in the North African country.
Amnesty, in a 50-page report, condemned “the ongoing complicity of European states” for cooperating with the authorities in war-torn Libya.
It said at the end of 2020, Libya’s Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration had “legitimised” abuses by taking over two detention centres run by armed groups from where hundreds of refugees and migrants had forcibly disappeared.
Amnesty cited survivor testimony from one facility of guards subjecting women to sexual violence “in exchange for their release or for essentials such as clean water”, or their freedom.
The findings come from interviews with 53 refugees and migrants, aged between 14 and 50, from countries such as Nigeria, Somalia and Syria, who were mostly still in Libya and had been able to flee camps or had access to telephones.
Pope Francis and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres have called for the closure of these facilities.
Amnesty also examined documents, photos, and videos from Libyan authorities and the UN.
The rights group urged Europe to “suspend cooperation on migration and border control with Libya”.
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