Tortured for profit: Captives whipped and filmed begging their families to pay a ransom
Disturbing
video clips shared on social media by their desperate families have
revealed the ordeal of Sudanese migrants kidnapped and tortured for
ransom in Libya.
As
one clip plays, viewers can hear the slap of the whip, the whimpering as
each man is forced to turn his head to the camera and beg his family to
send money.
The men's
relatives say they disseminated these videos on social media in a bid to
raise awareness -- and within a matter of days Libyan special forces
had traced where the men were held, according to Libya's UN-backed unity
government.
On
Wednesday, they raided a location in the city of Sirte, where they
arrested four men and freed eight Sudanese abductees, according to a
statement from Libya's Special Deterrence Forces, which operate under
Libya's Ministry of Interior.
The
Special Deterrence Forces statement refers to videos circulating on
social media of the torture. It describes "the horrific images committed
by some criminals deprived of humanity in torturing laborers and
burning them with fire, videotaping them to send it to their families in
an attempt to pressure and blackmail them with ransom in return for
their freedoms."
The latest images of abuse come after a CNN investigation late last year revealed that migrants were being sold off at slave auctions in Libya, prompting a formal investigation by Libyan authorities and outrage in Europe and Africa.
One
of the video clips shows at least five Sudanese men lying on the
ground. They are asked by two men, off camera, to show their faces and
can be heard calling on family members by name and begging them to
transfer the money so they can be released.
In a second clip filmed at the same time
and location, the five Sudanese men are lying on their front as they
are being beaten. Their backs are covered in scars, possibly fresh flesh
wounds. The camera and the beatings move from one man to the next as
they are forced to address their families or whomever the video will be
sent to. As they squirm in pain, the first man says "transfer the
money," the second says "sell the house," the third "tell them to sell
the house," and the fifth says "send the money."
A
third video shows another Sudanese man, who writhes naked on the ground
as a man off camera tortures him by dripping hot oil and fire on his
back. Another man, who's masked, is seen pointing a gun at the victim.
Family
members of those depicted in the videos confirmed to CNN that they had
been sent the videos in an attempt to extort ransom. They asked not to
be identified due to ongoing fears for both their own safety and for the
safety of those depicted in the video.
"The release of the videos on social media was part of a concerted attempt to help raise funds to pay the ransom," they said.
In a statement sent to CNN on Thursday,
the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it "renews its condemnation
and in the strongest terms of this criminal act and stresses the
continued efforts of the Government of National Reconciliation to
achieve security and stability for its citizens and foreign residents on
Libyan territory of various nationalities."
Sudan's
Foreign Ministry summoned Libya's charge d'affaires in Khartoum, Ali
Muftah al-Mahrouq, on Tuesday to "express the ministry's rejection to
the inhumane and immoral treatment of the Sudanese citizens," the
official Sudanese news agency SUNA reported.
Al-Mahrouq
expressed "his sorrow and apologized," saying criminal gangs operating
in areas out of the government's control were responsible for this
"shameful act," according to SUNA.
On
Monday, African Union Commissioner of Social Affairs Amira Al-Fadil
said that videos of Sudanese men being tortured in Libya "are recent and
an investigation has been opened," SUNA reported.
CNN cannot determine when the videos were filmed.
CNN was tagged by family members of the
victims in the original social media dissemination of the videos in a
bid to raise the profile of the torture inflicted on these victims.
An
ongoing CNN investigation into the money trails linking the criminal
gangs in Libya and the families of their victims has unearthed evidence
of a global network. In Sudan, several families of former victims told
CNN as much as $4,500 per hostage had been demanded of them, payable to
agents of the gangs and even directly into bank accounts in the Sudanese
capital, Khartoum.
CNN was shown
Western Union money transfer receipts with confirmation that the money
had been received in a number of countries including Bangladesh and
Niger.
An agent of the trafficking
gangs is able to pick up the money at the location and transfer it
again and again to disguise its origins. The money is then physically
carried into Libya, circumventing the sanctions placed on the country.
Western Union told CNN it took extensive steps to monitor and prevent potentially illegal activity.
"Western
Union vigorously condemns all illegal activities facilitating the
financing of crime, and we assign a priority to initiatives to detect
and deter the misuse of our services," it said. "Criminals threaten the
individuals, families and businesses we serve and the foundation of our
business."
Migrant route through Libya
Libya
has long struggled to cope with an influx of migrants from sub-Saharan
Africa, many of whom hope to transit in Libya before traveling to Europe
with the help of smugglers. For years, migrants crossing the
Mediterranean have brought with them stories of beatings, kidnapping and
enslavement.
Rights group Amnesty
International last month accused European governments of being complicit
in the torture and abuse of migrants and refugees in Libya by
supporting efforts by the Libyan coastguard to prevent migrants crossing
the Mediterranean and return them to camps in Libya.
Amnesty
called on the EU to end what it called a "policy of containment" and
instead establish "pathways" to bring the migrants and refugees to
Europe safely.
A European Commission spokesman told CNN that the EU institutions were "working to save lives, pure and simple."
The
EU has funded the International Organization for Migration to help
15,000 people stuck in Libya return home and plans to repatriate 15,000
more. It has also settled 40,000 refugees who have crossed into Europe
from Libya and plans to take 50,000 more in 2019, the commission said.
Source: CNN
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