Advertisement

Trafficker jailed for 30 years for raping migrants

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Trafficker jailed for 30 years for raping migrants
Criminal gangs take groups of migrants from several countries through desert zones to the Libyan coast, before boarding boats to Italy. Photo: Marina Militare

A Somali trafficker who raped and attacked migrants he had led through the desert to Libya to make the perilous crossing to Italy has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by an Italian court, media reported.

Advertisement

Mouhamud Elmi Muhidin, 34, was identified by several survivors of a boat wreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013 in which 366 migrants died, the reports said.

He was involved in the wreck, but managed to find a boat to take him to safety on Lampedusa.

The court in Agrigente in Sicily, southern Italy, convicted Muhidin of human trafficking, sexual violence, and criminal association with a view to trafficking migrants illegally.

Several witnesses in the trial, including young girls, recognized him as one of the organizers of several boat crossings to Italy. They said he was part of a group of Somali fighters who had guided their group through the desert to Libya.

Criminal gangs take groups of migrants from several countries through desert zones to the Libyan coast. Armed men often hold the migrants prisoner there until weather conditions allow a crossing to Italy for which they often pay thousands of euros.

The perils of the crossings were illustrated again this week when around 330 African migrants died trying to cross from Libya.

SEE ALSO: Italy rescues more than 2,000 migrants off Libya

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also