Trapped in the Mediterranean: The Human Cost of Libya's EU-Backed Policy

Sulaiman spent a year in a Libyan prison, surviving on a single slice of bread daily while confined in a cage with 100 others. He described a regime of daily beatings where inmates are treated as skeletons until they can pay for their release. His experience is not unique; since 2016, the International Organization for Migration and the UN report that over 200,000 people have been intercepted in the central Mediterranean and returned to these conditions.

NGOs like SOS Humanity frequently face obstruction from groups operating under the guise of the Libyan coast guard. These entities often hijack migrant boats to rob passengers before forcing them back into illegal detention facilities. Among those rescued this week were 10 unaccompanied minors, including a Sudanese boy who hid his location from his mother to spare her the agony of knowing his reality. This cycle of violence continues at the hands of forces receiving EU funding to prevent migrants from reaching European shores.