Hundreds of migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan who attempted to reach the United Kingdom last year were abducted in Libya, subjected to torture, and threatened with forced organ removal, according to a BBC report released on Tuesday.
Hostage Situation in Libya
More than 300 young men were detained by a militia that demanded a ransom of $5,000 per person from their families. The captors warned that if payment was delayed, they would harvest the victims' kidneys. Photo evidence and verbal accounts collected by the BBC suggest that some of these threatened procedures were carried out.
Survivors reported that nearly 180 of the migrants were forced to share a single cell under extremely cramped conditions. At least one individual died, and it remains unclear how many are still held captive in Libya.
Smuggling Network Dispute
The militia had originally planned to guide the migrants through dangerous Libyan territory to the Mediterranean Sea for crossing. However, a payment dispute erupted with Noah Aaron, an Iraqi-Kurdish people-smuggler currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in France for separate offenses.
The details of the kidnappings emerged during the BBC's investigation into Kardo Jaf, a smuggler arrested last month. Jaf and Aaron are believed to have collaborated in the past, operating from a region in Iraqi Kurdistan known for powerful smuggling rings.
Militia Control and Organ Harvesting Fears
Most of Libya is controlled by rival militias that grant permission for smugglers to transit. One militia took Aaron's group hostage, claiming he failed to pay for a previous arrangement. More than 100 hostages have been flown back to Iraq. Dozens later provided photo evidence of injuries consistent with organ removal and torture.
Kurdish authorities fear that for those returned hostages whose families did not pay the ransom, their organs may have been harvested as an alternative. Conditions in captivity were extremely harsh, with migrants receiving only one piece of bread per day — and only if they paid — while being forced to share a single toilet.
Ongoing Migration Risks
Hemn Merany, a senior official at the Kurdistan Regional Government's Interior Ministry, stated that the risks of migration have failed to reduce the flow of people to Europe.
