WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2021) New evidence of abuses against migrants intercepted crossing the Mediterranean and forcibly returned to Libyan detention centers highlights horrifying consequences of European cooperation with Libya on migration and border control, Amnesty International said in a report on Thursday.
"Decade-long violations against refugees and migrants continued unabated in Libyan detention centers during the first six months of 2021 despite repeated promises to address them," a press release summarizing the report said.
For example, survivors from one center recently rebranded by Libya's Interior Ministry said guards raped women and subjected them to sexual violence including by coercing them into sex in exchange for food or their freedom.
"The report also highlights the ongoing complicity of European states that have shamefully continued to enable and assist Libyan coastguards in capturing people at sea and forcibly returning them to the hellscape of detention in Libya, despite knowing full well the horrors they will endure," Amnesty Deputy Director for the middle East and North Africa Diana Eltahawy said in the release.
The report urged European states to suspend cooperation on migration and border control with Libya.
