A BBC probe found evidence that the families of more than 300 young men from Iraqi Kurdistan were told to pay £3,700 or their kidneys would be harvested
Hundreds of UK-bound migrants were kidnapped, tortured and threatened with forced organ removal, a report claims.
A BBC probe found more than 300 young men from Iraqi Kurdistan were held in Libya where militia demanded £3,700 from each of their families. They were told that if they did not pay, the captives’ kidneys would be harvested.
Some hostages who have since been released provided photo evidence suggesting that forced operations did take place. The former captives said they had been tortured and kept in cramped conditions, with nearly 180 people sharing a cell. At least one hostage is known to have died and it is unclear how many remain captive. The militia was supposed to be guiding the migrants through Libya to the Mediterranean coast. However, a dispute over payment had broken out with the Iraqi Kurd people-smuggler, Noah Aaron, who had organised the migrants’ journey.
Aaron is now serving a 10-year prison sentence in France for separate money laundering and smuggling offences. Details of the kidnappings emerged during a recent BBC investigation into another smuggler, Kardo Jaf, which led to his arrest last month.
The two smugglers are believed to have worked together in the past. Both are from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan – a region “riddled with active smuggling networks”, according to a report by the UK think tank, Chatham House.
In February, a BBC investigative team was making inquiries about Jaf in Ranya, when they were approached by a local man who said his son had been one of the men held. The man told the BBC that Aaron’s smuggling gang had charged his family thousands of dollars for organising the journey to the UK, which would involve travelling through northern Africa, then across the Mediterranean into Europe.
The route would pass through Libya, a country with a “huge vacuum of government”, according to Anthony Dunkerley, a UN adviser who has investigated human trafficking there. Much of Libya is controlled by rival militias, and smuggling networks rely on their co-operation.
Jaf’s network charges about £15,000 to transport a migrant from Iraq to the UK. The price is higher than rival gangs, but claims to offer a premium safer service and journey.
Although he has kept his identity secret, adverts promoting his service on social media platforms include images of his face.
He has also posted videos tempting customers with images of luxury in London, and testimonies from apparently satisfied customers who have already made the journey to the UK.
