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Italy 'Complicit in Abuse' of Migrants Over Libya Deal, Say Human Rights
Groups

Henry Ridgwell

   LONDON - Human rights groups have strongly criticized Italy for
   extending a deal with Libya that facilitates the return of migrants to
   detention centers. Many migrants have spoken of horrific conditions in
   the camps, with torture and rape commonplace.
   Awudi Baluduzzi, 27, has experienced the brutality firsthand. He left
   his home in Ghana in 2015 with the dream of reaching Europe. He
   eventually arrived in Libya, where he was captured by a trafficking
   gang who demanded money for his release. When he couldn't pay, they
   broke the bones in his hands.
   "At that time, I didn't have money, so they started beating me every
   day, asking me to call my parents for the money," Baluduzzi explained.
   "They started beating me all over my body. I called my mother. My
   mother put 1,500 Ghanaian cedi ($270) for them. Even (after) that
   1,500, already they've beaten me."
   A smartphone and $1,200 bought Baluduzzi a place on an overloaded
   rubber dinghy across the Mediterranean Sea in 2019. The passengers were
   saved by the Ocean Viking, an aid agency rescue ship.

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