Libya authorities charge suspect with human trafficking after migrant remains found in mass grave – JURIST

Libya’s Attorney General’s Office on Friday announced the discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 21 individuals. A prosecutor at the Benghazi Attorney General’s Office charged an individual with the initials (M.F.H.) with human trafficking in connection with the discovery.

A joint investigation by the Internal Security Agency and Battalion 166 led to the discovery of the mass grave. The investigators ordered that DNA samples be collected from the remains to identify the deceased and that full autopsies be carried out to determine their cause(s) of death. The suspect (M.F.H.) had been previously charged with three offences related to the murder of migrants and additional human trafficking offences.

Refugees in Libya, a Libyan-run organization registered in Italy that provides support for refugees, urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim Khan, to “assess this case within the (ICC)’s mandate.” They further stated, “The killings… occurred within a system where people are blocked, intercepted, returned, and abandoned in Libya after being denied safe pathways to protection. This demands accountability beyond Libya.”

Seawatch International, an NGO that saves migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, condemned EU policies for endangering migrant lives. “Horrifying news: In Libya, a mass grave with at least 21 persons was discovered. Their deaths are a direct consequence of EU migration politics. Libya is not a safe place for people on the move!”

Since the NATO intervention in Libya in 2011 and the death of the former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has become a hotspot for human trafficking. This includes the discovery of nearly 50 bodies in two mass graves in February 2025. Furthermore, Libya has served as a starting point for flight trafficking migrants to Nicaragua, with the intended final destination of the United States.

Article 426 of the Libyan Penal Code prohibits the trafficking of enslaved people and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment not exceeding ten years. Further, Article 428 criminalizes the deprivation of another’s liberty by a period of imprisonment not exceeding five years. A United States State Department report has identified the lack of a functioning judiciary, corruption, and the strength of armed non-state groups as causes behind the surge of human trafficking in Libya.