Latest news with #RefugeesinLibya
Middle East Eye
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Alleged US plans to deport people to Libya 'inhuman,' rights groups say
Human rights defender David Yambio recalls his time in Libya as one of 'perpetual fear'. Yambio fled Sudan in 2016 after he was forcibly recruited as a child soldier, and wound up in a series of detention centres and prisons in Libya. 'I was tortured, I was enslaved. I saw an enormous level of violence that I cannot describe,' he told Middle East Eye. He managed to escape and cross the central Mediterranean to Europe, and has since painstakingly documented abuses against refugees in Libya through his organisation Refugees in Libya. The news that US President Donald Trump is seeking to deport migrant people to Libya left him 'deeply troubled'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters CNN has reported that Trump officials discussed with a Libyan delegation the possibility of sending non-nationals with criminal records to the country. One source said that administration officials are also seeking to strike a formal 'safe country' agreement with Libya which would allow the US to send asylum seekers apprehended at the US border to Libya to process their claims. 'As someone who has lived through this harsh reality of life in Libya, and the fact that I work every single day to address the ongoing crisis there, what I can say with certainty is that it's a dangerous, unacceptable and inhuman proposal,' Yambio said. 'Libya has never been a safe place for migrants, and I don't see it in any foreseeable future. The number of abuses we're documenting against migrants, refugees and Libyans is enormous,' he told MEE. Giulia Messmer, a spokesperson for the monitor Sea-Watch, said the move is 'tantamount to condemning refugees to a violent cycle of torture, slavery and sexual violence.' According to the report, no final agreement has been struck, and it is currently unclear which nationalities would be eligible for deportation. A State Department spokesperson and a Libyan official denied that deportations were discussed at the meeting. 'The most vile people on earth' During his election campaign, Trump pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in US history, and has deported and detained thousands of people since taking office. In January, he signed an executive order instructing officials to facilitate international agreements that would enable the US to deport migrant people. 'Libya has never been a safe place for migrants... The number of abuses we're documenting against migrants, refugees and Libyans is enormous' - David Yambio, co-founder of Refugees in Libya Since then, his administration has reportedly struck deals with a number of central American countries including El Salvador, Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, and is pushing to expand the list. His administration is also reportedly also seeking a deal with Rwanda, which will see the country accept individuals with criminal records who have already served sentences in the US. Under the agreement, the deportees would be integrated into Rwandan society. In March, a refugee from Iraq, Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, was deported from the US to Rwanda. Also in March, the US deported 200 Venezuelan men, whom it claimed were gang members, to an El Salvadoran mega prison, Cecot, shortly after the countries struck a $6m deal for El Salvador to detain around 300 migrants at the prison for one year. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a US Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the administration is 'actively searching for other countries to take people from third countries'. 'We're working with nations to ask: would you take in some of the most vile people on Earth as a favour to us? The farther they are from America, the better - so they can't come back across the border,' he added. Continuous abuse Rights groups have long documented abuses perpetrated against thousands of people who arrive in Libya in the hope of boarding a boat to Europe and are abducted by traffickers and held to ransom. Libya is a key transit country for thousands of refugees, often from Sub-Saharan Africa, with 760,000 estimated to have arrived in the country as of July 2024. There, they are subjected to prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence, forced labour and financial extortion, at the hands of both smuggling gangs and state actors. The Libyan Coast Guard, which is trained and equipped by the European Union and member states, has long intercepted refugees attempting to cross the central Mediterranean and sent them to unofficial detention centres. Libya: Video reveals young Ethiopian woman being tortured for ransom Read More » 'What we are documenting is continuous human trafficking of migrants but also continuous abuse,' Yambio said. 'We are speaking about innumerable human trafficking hubs that belong to people who are affiliated either with the Ministry of Interior or with the government itself. This is the huge chain of human trafficking,' he added. According to a recent report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), refugees in the country are stripped of protections, which prevents them from accessing healthcare. The NGO warned that the lack of healthcare access for refugees risked worsening the trauma and injuries they had sustained in detention. In April, the Libyan authorities accused aid groups - including MSF and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR - of plotting to 'change the demographic composition of the country,' ordering several to shutter their offices. In mid-March, MSF was forced to wind down its operations in the country, citing a campaign of harassment targeting its staff. Yambio highlighted that the potential deal with the US would grant yet more impunity to those committing abuses. Rights groups have repeatedly highlighted the role of EU funding and support in perpetuating abuses against people on the move in Libya. A UN fact-finding mission in March 2023 concluded that the EU had 'aided and abetted' Libyan authorities' crimes against migrants, through its bolstering of the Libyan Coast Guard and funding of Libyan border management programmes.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italy-based refugee advocate says he was targeted using spyware
By Raphael Satter (Reuters) - A refugee advocate caught up in an Italian political scandal over the recent release of an alleged war criminal was targeted using sophisticated spyware, according to an alert sent to him by iPhone maker Apple. David Yambio, the head of the Refugees in Libya group, received the alert on November 13, according to a message he shared with Reuters. The message warned him that his iPhone was targeted in a "mercenary spyware attack" and that, "This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do." See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Yambio told Reuters the surveillance was inexcusable. "I know I'm not a criminal. I have never been a criminal. Why should I be spied on?" he said. Apple has periodically issued alerts to users who it believes have been targeted using mercenary spyware, a practice that dates back to 2021, when it sued the Israeli hacking company NSO Group to curb its spying on Apple customers. The circumstances of the alert received by Yambio late last year are not clear. Apple did not immediately return a message seeking comment and Yambio said he was reserving judgment on who might be responsible for the hacking pending a forensic examination of his device. Yambio's disclosure comes amid an escalating scandal in Italy over the alleged use of Paragon spyware to intercept the communications of domestic opponents of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Anonymously sourced reports have claimed the spyware company Paragon, which has marketed itself as a more responsible alternative to NSO, cut its ties to the Italian government following allegations the government had used Paragon's technology to hack its critics. Paragon has not returned repeated messages seeking comment on the revelations. The Italian government did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Yambio's case, although officials have more broadly denied any involvement in the hacking. Yambio was one of the alleged victims of Libyan police officer Osama Elmasry Njeem, who was released by Italian authorities last month despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court over a string of human rights abuses, including murder, torture and rape. He was arrested in Italy on January 19 on an ICC warrant but was freed two days later and flown back to Libya on a government plane, officially because of a procedural fault with his arrest. Opposition politicians and human rights groups have accused Meloni's government of freeing Njeem because it relies on Libyan security forces to check the flow of African migrants crossing the Mediterranean and did not want to antagonize them by arresting such a high-profile figure. The release triggered a legal investigation into Meloni, two of her ministers, and a cabinet undersecretary. Yambio was among those who publicly deplored Njeem's release, calling it a "huge betrayal" at a news conference two weeks ago held in Italy's parliament. Njeem has not publicly commented on the charges against him.
Reuters
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Italy-based refugee advocate says he was targeted using spyware
Feb 11 (Reuters) - A refugee advocate caught up in an Italian political scandal over the recent release of an alleged war criminal was targeted using sophisticated spyware, according to an alert sent to him by iPhone maker Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab. David Yambio, the head of the Refugees in Libya group, received the alert on November 13, according to a message he shared with Reuters. The message warned him that his iPhone was targeted in a "mercenary spyware attack" and that, "This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do." Yambio told Reuters the surveillance was inexcusable. "I know I'm not a criminal. I have never been a criminal. Why should I be spied on?" he said. Apple has periodically issued alerts to users who it believes have been targeted using mercenary spyware, a practice that dates back to 2021, when it sued the Israeli hacking company NSO Group to curb its spying on Apple customers. The circumstances of the alert received by Yambio late last year are not clear. Apple did not immediately return a message seeking comment and Yambio said he was reserving judgment on who might be responsible for the hacking pending a forensic examination of his device. Yambio's disclosure comes amid an escalating scandal in Italy over the alleged use of Paragon spyware to intercept the communications of domestic opponents of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Anonymously sourced reports have claimed the spyware company Paragon, which has marketed itself as a more responsible alternative to NSO, cut its ties to the Italian government following allegations the government had used Paragon's technology to hack its critics. Paragon has not returned repeated messages seeking comment on the revelations. The Italian government did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Yambio's case, although officials have more broadly denied any involvement in the hacking. Yambio was one of the alleged victims of Libyan police officer Osama Elmasry Njeem, who was released by Italian authorities last month despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court over a string of human rights abuses, including murder, torture and rape. He was arrested in Italy on January 19 on an ICC warrant but was freed two days later and flown back to Libya on a government plane, officially because of a procedural fault with his arrest. Opposition politicians and human rights groups have accused Meloni's government of freeing Njeem because it relies on Libyan security forces to check the flow of African migrants crossing the Mediterranean and did not want to antagonize them by arresting such a high-profile figure. The release triggered a legal investigation into Meloni, two of her ministers, and a cabinet undersecretary. Yambio was among those who publicly deplored Njeem's release, calling it a "huge betrayal" at a news conference two weeks ago held in Italy's parliament. Njeem has not publicly commented on the charges against him.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Refugee's justice hopes ‘crushed' after Italy releases Libya war crimes suspect
A man who says he experienced abuses at a notorious prison in Tripoli at the hands of the head of Libya's judicial police, Osama Najim, has said Italy has 'crushed' his hopes for justice by releasing the war crimes suspect despite an international criminal court arrest warrant. David Yambio was held at Mitiga prison in Tripoli after several attempts to cross the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe were thwarted by Libya's coastguard as part of a controversial pact with Italy. Najim is believed to have been in charge of prison facilities in Tripoli, including Mitiga, since February 2015. The former warlord, also known as Almasri, was arrested in Turin last week on the warrant issued by the ICC before being unexpectedly released on a technicality and swiftly repatriated to a hero's welcome. 'The fragile hope for justice that we were all holding on to has been crushed,' Yambio said in an interview with the Guardian. The 27-year-old, who now lives in Italy, is the co-founder of the NGO Refugees in Libya, which has assisted the ICC and other international institutions in providing evidence about Najim. The court wants him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as alleged rape and murder committed at Mitiga. Yambio said: 'Almasri was in Italy, in my backyard … heaven knows if he was looking for me and all those who witnessed his [alleged] crimes. We already live in perpetual fear, but how can we be safe in a country that pretended to keep us safe and instead protects an [alleged] torturer? I'm struggling to reconcile what has happened. All we have left is our voice and even that is being attacked by people who want to deny our pain.' Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said Najim had been sent back because he 'presented a profile of social dangerousness'. On Monday, the UN mission in Libya called for authorities there to arrest him. Libya does not recognise the ICC, but has cooperated with its prosecutor, Karim Khan, on some cases recently. Yambio fled civil war in South Sudan and travelled to Libya in preparation for the journey across the Mediterranean, a perilous crossing that thousands of people risk each year in a desperate quest to reach Europe. Since 2017, Italy has trained and funded the Libyan coastguard to capture people in the Mediterranean and bring them back to the north African country. The deal, approved by the European Council, has long been condemned by humanitarian groups for pushing people back to detention camps where they face torture and other abuses. 'This deal is a death sentence,' said Yambio. 'Innumerable people have been killed by this process either by being taken back from the Mediterranean or by being put in detention centres or dumped in the desert. So the experience that me and others have experienced, or are still experiencing, is not the entire doing of the Libyans. Italy is complicit and has blood on its hands.' Yambio said he first encountered Najim during his detention at al-Jadida prison in 2019 before being moved to Mitiga, a facility condemned by human rights organisations for its arbitrary detention, torture and abuse of political dissidents, migrants and refugees. Yambio, who was used as forced labour on the construction of a new prison and to load heavy weaponry on to trucks, described systematic abuse against himself and other detainees allegedly at the hands of Najim and his guards. Yambio claimed that Najim whipped him with a water pipe and ordered whippings or beatings by guards wielding AK-47s whenever he made an error on site, usually due to extreme tiredness and hunger. 'It was his habit, anyone who he came across – maybe you were having a rest, maybe a brick fell on your feet – he would rush to you and whip you,' he alleged. Yambio managed to escape from the prison in 2020, climbing over a 5-metre wall in the middle of the night and hiding out in Libya before successfully making it to Italy by boat in June 2022. Yambio, whose asylum application was accepted after he arrived in Italy, said several requests made by him while in Libya were rejected. Apart from migration, Italy has other wide-ranging political and businesses interests in Libya, its former colony. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has travelled to the country four times since coming to power in October 2022. Italy has also signed several investment and development deals with Libya as part of Meloni's much-touted Mattei plan, aimed at increasing European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbs on irregular migration. Yambio, who is also an activist with the German NGO Sea-Watch, said the Refugees in Libya group was made up of about 200 people. 'Most of us are in Europe, but many are still in Libya,' he said. 'The idea is to challenge the narratives, and reveal what is really happening in Libya and who is responsible.' The Guardian has called and written to Libya's judicial police authority with a request for comment. The authority last week wrote in a Facebook post that Najim's arrest was an 'outrageous incident'.
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Refugee's justice hopes ‘crushed' after Italy releases Libya war crimes suspect
A man who says he experienced abuses at a notorious prison in Tripoli at the hands of the head of Libya's judicial police, Osama Najim, has said Italy has 'crushed' his hopes for justice by releasing the war crimes suspect despite an international criminal court arrest warrant. David Yambio was held at Mitiga prison in Tripoli after several attempts to cross the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe were thwarted by Libya's coastguard as part of a controversial pact with Italy. Najim is believed to have been in charge of prison facilities in Tripoli, including Mitiga, since February 2015. The former warlord, also known as Almasri, was arrested in Turin last week on the warrant issued by the ICC before being unexpectedly released on a technicality and swiftly repatriated to a hero's welcome. 'The fragile hope for justice that we were all holding on to has been crushed,' Yambio said in an interview with the Guardian. The 27-year-old, who now lives in Italy and is the co-founder of the NGO Refugees in Libya, is among the many refugees and migrants who provided testimony to the ICC about Najim. The court wants him for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as alleged rape and murder committed at Mitiga. Yambio said: 'Almasri was in Italy, in my backyard … heaven knows if he was looking for me and all those who witnessed his [alleged] crimes. We already live in perpetual fear, but how can we be safe in a country that pretended to keep us safe and instead protects an [alleged] torturer? I'm struggling to reconcile what has happened. All we have left is our voice and even that is being attacked by people who want to deny our pain.' Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said Najim had been sent back because he 'presented a profile of social dangerousness'. On Monday the UN mission in Libya called for authorities there to arrest him. Libya does not recognise the ICC, but has cooperated with its prosecutor, Karim Khan, on some cases recently. Yambio fled civil war in South Sudan and travelled to Libya in preparation for the journey across the Mediterranean, a perilous crossing that thousands of people risk each year in a desperate quest to reach Europe. Since 2017, Italy has trained and funded the Libyan coastguard to capture people in the Mediterranean and bring them back to the north African country. The deal, approved by the European Council, has long been condemned by humanitarian groups for pushing people back to detention camps where they face torture and other abuses. 'This deal is a death sentence,' said Yambio. 'Innumerable people have been killed by this process either by being taken back from the Mediterranean or by being put in detention centres or dumped in the desert. So the experience that me and others have experienced, or are still experiencing, is not the entire doing of the Libyans. Italy is complicit and has blood on its hands.' Yambio said he first encountered Najim during his detention at al-Jadida prison in 2019 before being moved to Mitiga, a facility condemned by human rights organisations for its arbitrary detention, torture and abuse of political dissidents, migrants and refugees. Yambio, who was used as forced labour on the construction of a new prison and to load heavy weaponry on to trucks, described systematic abuse against himself and other detainees allegedly at the hands of Najim and his guards. Yambio claimed that Najim whipped him with a water pipe and ordered whippings or beatings by guards wielding AK-47s whenever he made an error on site, usually due to extreme tiredness and hunger. 'It was his habit, anyone who he came across – maybe you were having a rest, maybe a brick fell on your feet – he would rush to you and whip you,' he alleged. Yambio managed to escape from the prison in 2020, climbing over a 5-metre wall in the middle of the night and hiding out in Libya before successfully making it to Italy by boat in June 2022. Yambio, whose asylum application was accepted after he arrived in Italy, said several requests made by him while in Libya were rejected. Apart from migration, Italy has other wide-ranging political and businesses interests in Libya, its former colony. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has travelled to the country four times since coming to power in October 2022. Italy has also signed several investment and development deals with Libya as part of Meloni's much-touted Mattei plan, aimed at increasing European cooperation on the African continent in return for curbs on irregular migration. Yambio, who is also an activist with the German NGO Sea-Watch, said the Refugees in Libya group was made up of about 200 people. 'Most of us are in Europe, but many are still in Libya,' he said. 'The idea is to challenge the narratives, and reveal what is really happening in Libya and who is responsible.' The Guardian has called and written to Libya's judicial police authority with a request for comment. The authority last week wrote in a Facebook post that Najim's arrest was an 'outrageous incident'.
