Over 300 migrants bound for the UK were tortured and threatened with forced organ removal in Libya, according to an investigation.
The young men from Iraqi Kurdistan had paid smuggling gangs to organise travel to the UK through northern Africa, the Med and Europe last summer.
However, when they arrived in Libya, a militia group that works with the smugglers kidnapped them and demanded $5,000 (£3,700) per hostage, the BBC probe found. The militia claimed the smugglers had failed to pay money owed for a previous deal.
The captives were threatened with the removal of their kidneys if the payment was not made, the broadcaster said. At least one captive is reported to have died, with uncertainty around how many are still held in captivity.
A 16-year-old boy among the group said he did not see the sun for six months. He was among 178 hostages who were kept in one cramped cell, where they all shared a single toilet and were only given one piece of bread per day – if their families paid extra.
The BBC investigative team said that distressing photos and videos were sent to the families of the hostages, including one in which a captive was told he was to be taken to a doctor to have his kidney removed.
One father said he paid the ransom for his son, who was returned home on a flight in January along with over 100 other captives, organised by the Iraqi government.
The father showed a photo of his son with a scar which they suspect was from a forced organ removal. Dozens more came forward with similar photos but the BBC said it was unable to verify whether forced organ removals took place.
Libya, a hub for migrants trying to get to Europe, is in the middle of severe conflict. Human rights groups have called its migrant detention centers “horrific” and “deplorable”.
The country has faced years of civil war since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, its longtime dictator, and remains divided.
A UN-recognised government governs western Libya from Tripoli. The east is ruled by a government led by the warlord Khalifa Haftar, who controls most of the country’s oil fields.
Anthony Dunkerley, a United Nations adviser, told BBC Radio 4 podcast ‘Intrigue: To Catch a King’ that competing armed groups and limited state control make investigations and prosecutions difficult.
