Libya arrests prime suspect in murder of 30 migrants

Libyan security forces have arrested one of the main suspects in the murder of 30 mostly Bangladeshi migrants in the city of Mizdah, south of the capital Tripoli, last year, Anadolu reported.

“The Security Directorate of Gharyan has achieved a great victory by arresting the main suspect in the killing of a number of migrants in Mizdah in May 2020,” Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said on Twitter.

“Once again, the security men prove that crimes will not be registered against unknown [persons] and that we are facing human traffickers, smugglers, and organised crime gangs with all force and firmness,” he added.

Bashagha offered his sincere condolences to the victims’ families and thanked human rights defenders as well as local and international organisations for following up on the case, stressing that “the perpetrator will be referred to the public prosecution”.

On 28 May 2020, the Libyan Interior Ministry said the family of a human trafficker who had been killed by migrants has allegedly avenged his murder by murdering  26 Bangladeshis and four migrants of African origin and wounded 11 others in Mizdah city.

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