Libyan people smugglers who filmed themselves dripping molten plastic on to a writhing migrant and whipping others for ransom money have been arrested, according to the Libyan authorities.
The shocking videos, which have gone viral, show one migrant lying naked on his front and shaking in agony as a smuggler sets fire to a piece of plastic which melts and drips onto his back. As a masked man points a rifle at him, a voice can be heard ordering him to raise his head to the camera.
The videos were allegedly sent to families of the migrants in Sudan to force them to pay huge ransoms to free them.
A second shows a group of African migrants lying on the ground being whipped while a voice orders them to show their faces. “You will die today,” a voice says, adding: “Hit this dog, what’s your name?” The migrant responds, “Marwi”, before the voice shouts: “Transfer the money! Transfer the money!”
Thousands of migrants crossing the Sahara into Libya to find work or a boat across the Mediterranean to Europe have fallen prey to traffickers who detain, rape and torture them until their families send money.
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Last month Amnesty International accused the EU of being complicit in the torture by backing Libyan coast guard patrols that are halting sailings. The number of migrants rescued at sea and brought to Italy last year dropped 35 per cent to 119,000, although sailings are on the rise again this month.
After ignoring the problem for years, African governments ramped up repatriation flights from Libya last year after video was released of an alleged slave auction of migrants.
Although the authenticity of the latest videos is not certain, Libya’s UN-backed government said it had raided a house in Sirte and arrested four men responsible for the torture as well as freeing eight Sudanese migrants held captive.