Dutch prosecutors seek 20 years prison sentence against Eritrean migrant smuggler
The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service (OM) is seeking a 20-year prison sentence against a 42-year-old Eritrean man for the smuggling of migrants in the most cruel circumstances. According to the OM, the suspect played a prominent role in an international organization involved in migration crime. During his trial in the Overijssel District Court, witnesses described how he locked them up and abused them in Libya during their journey to Europe. It concerns chilling accounts of torture, starvation, and rape.
"You hear that a lot can happen in the Sahara. You know you can drown in the sea. You know that women can be raped in Libya. You know that men are tortured in Libya. You know that beforehand. But you have a goal and you want to achieve it, and you think: Maybe I'll survive this, and you don't think about what might happen. You just want to continue your journey." states a witness in one of the largest human smuggling cases ever tried in the Netherlands.
He recounts his prior knowledge of the journey that he was about to make from Eritrea to Europe. On this journey, migrants have to cross Libya with its vast deserts before crossing the Mediterranean. The political and security situation in Libya is extremely volatile and militias and migrant smugglers call the shots. Yet, many people take the risk and embark on this dangerous Central Mediterranean Route. Among them are many refugees from Eritrea, a country with a dictatorship where human rights violations are commonplace.
"Thus, they are forced into the hands of migrant smugglers and forced to pay large sums of money to reach Europe, often via dangerous routes and means of transport. Women, men, and children drown at sea, if they are among the 'lucky' ones who survive the journey overland," prosecutors said Wednesday in the Zwolle courtroom.
Netherlands is directly involved
Prosecutors also addressed the question why this case is tried in the Netherlands. The OM is of the view that the facts are so serious that no country can afford to abstain from action, and because there is a direct link to Netherlands. For example, through the extortion of relatives of smuggled migrants residing in the Netherlands. They are forced to pay in the Netherlands for their family members' onward journey to this country through cash transfers, which are subsequently transferred to the smugglers via hawala banking.
According to the OM, the criminal organization's business model is also directly linked to the systematic abuse in the Libyan camps. After all; no smuggling without payments, no payments without extortion, no extortion without the use of violence. Relatives, friends, and acquaintances in Europe are pressured to pay for the smuggling of their loved ones by having to witness their abuse live over the phone. Almost all witnesses experience this:
"When you're beaten, even the sound of the whip is audible via the phone. Subconsciously, you start screaming. You're going to say whatever they want. You tell your family, 'You have to pay for me, I'm being beaten, I'm struggling.' They hear the pain on the phone, too." The payment is a condition for being able to continue their journey to the next camp or by sea to Europe. "The consequences of human smuggling are also manifesting themselves in the Netherlands, because after entering the Schengen Area, a migrant has access to all Schengen countries. In this way, the criminal organization also undermines Dutch asylum policy," the prosecutors said.
Libyan Camps
In the overcrowded Libyan camps, there is shortage of water and food, and poor hygiene leads to diseases and infections. Many statements refer to the fate of women, who are sexually abused and raped. Witnesses describe the suspect, W., as the most cruel one of all the smugglers on the route.
“W. told her, 'You're going to pay for the third time, but I'm also going to rape you.' He said this in Arabic... then a horn sounded, and she was taken away."
Another witness spoke of a woman who refused to go with the alleged migrant smuggler:
"They hit her with electric shocks and water hoses. Ultimately, they tied her hands and feet and forced her to sit in the sun all day. W. also beat another girl and tied her hands and feet because, according to W., she was also planning to flee. It turned out she was six months pregnant and she miscarried. W. just laughed and humiliated her. She was tied up like this for three days.”
Many refugees recount how people around them are dying from starvation, disease, and the consequences of the abuse. Their lawyers refer to their "stories that seem like they come from a horror script, but are reality for their clients." During the trial, four survivors exercised their right to speak.
Identification of the suspect
The man on trial denies being the smuggler in question. He invokes his right to remain silent during the trial. However, witnesses recognize him as the man who abused them with water hoses and who extorted their families. Based on information from the suspect's Facebook accounts, witness identifications on photos (in which he partially recognizes himself), and the results of facial comparisons by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar) and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), the Public Prosecution Service has concluded that the suspect is indeed the same person.
Appropriate punishment
The OM is of the view it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect led a criminal organization aimed at committing the crimes of migrant smuggling, hostage-taking, extortion, violent crimes, and sexual offenses. For him, only the maximum sentence for crimes like these, is appropriate:
“He deprived the victims of their freedom and dignity. He detained them in appalling conditions, starved them, tortured them, and denied them essential medical care. He exposed them to life-threatening situations in the desert, in camps, and in overcrowded, old, and leaky boats at sea, without food, fuel, or engines. Tens of thousands of people have not survived their journey over the Central Mediterranean Route in recent years.”
Long-term investigation
The criminal file of the Pearce investigation, which the National Public Prosecutor's Office conducted in collaboration with the KMar, comprises over 30,000 pages and focuses on the period between 2014 and 2019. The investigation began in 2018 and is being conducted in narrow collaboration with Italy through a Joint Investigation Team. Furthermore, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) shared information in the interest of the investigation. In addition to approximately 200 witness statements, evidence is based on telephone records, recorded conversations, satellite photos, data from public sources, and financial transactions. A total of seven suspects have been charged in this trial. The man currently on trial was extradited from Ethiopia in October 2022, where he was convicted of migrant smuggling within Africa. A second key suspect is expected to be extradited soon from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Five people allegedly involved in the financial transactions have also been charged and will stand trial next year.
The trial in Zwolle will continue next week with the defense lawyers' pleas.