A BBC investigation has revealed that more than 300 migrants heading to the UK last summer were kidnapped, tortured and threatened with forced organ removal by a militia in Libya. The captors demanded a ransom of $5,000 from each family and warned that if payment was not made promptly, the hostages' kidneys would be harvested.
All the victims were young men from Iraqi Kurdistan. They were captured by a militia that was supposed to guide them through Libya to the Mediterranean coast. A dispute over payment had broken out with the Iraqi Kurd smuggler Noah Aaron, who had organized the migrants' journey. Aaron is now serving a 10-year prison sentence in France for separate offenses.
Former hostages showed evidence of torture and said they were kept in cramped conditions, with nearly 180 people sharing a single cell. At least one hostage is known to have died, and it is unclear how many remain captive. Some families paid the ransom, but Kurdish authorities suspect other hostages may have paid with their internal organs.
The BBC has seen photo evidence suggesting forced operations did take place. In one image, a young man was filmed being told he was being taken to a doctor to have his kidney removed. A UK consultant said the scars were consistent with kidney surgery, but organ removal could not be verified.
According to UN adviser Anthony Dunkerley, Libya has a huge vacuum of government, and criminal groups exploit limited state control, making investigations and prosecutions particularly challenging. The smuggling networks rely on cooperation with rival militias.
Despite the risks, the flow of illegal migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan to Europe has not stopped. Hemn Merany, a senior official at the Kurdistan Regional Government's Ministry of the Interior, urged returned hostages to share their horrific experiences. However, he recounted the story of a father whose son died in Libya after a suspected forced organ removal; at the funeral, the father discovered that two of his son's cousins had recently left for Europe.
Source: www.bbc.com