Abdel-Rahman Milad, sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council and imprisoned in Libya for human trafficking, was shot dead in early September.
The chief prosecutor of Libya has ordered the arrest of a militia leader and one of his assistants in connection with the murder of one of the human traffickers best known in the country.
The head of the militia, Mohamed Bahroun and one of his collaborators turned themselves in after accusations came to light about their role in the assassination of Abdel-Rahman Milad last week in Tripoli, the country’s capital.
One of the most wanted traffickers
christmas, one of the most wanted traffickers of the country, had been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council and previously imprisoned in Libya on human trafficking charges. They shot him while he was sitting in his car.
Also known as ‘Bija’, Milad commanded a coast guard unit in the western city of Zawiya and was accused by a security report of United Nations of 2017 of being involved in the “intentional sinking of vessels of migrants using firearms”.
Arrested in 2019
Milad was arrested in 2019 after an Italian newspaper located him at a meeting in Sicily which they attended italian officials and a delegation of the Libyan coast guard organized to discuss the control of migration from Italy to Libya.
The meeting was organized in light of a controversial agreement signed in 2017 between the Italian Minister of the Interior and the then Government of Libya that promised more cooperation between the Libyan coast guard and Italian agencies.
The agreement implied that Italy would provide Libya with funds and equipmentincluding four new patrol boats, to intercept migrant boats at sea and return them to Libya.
human traffickers among the Libyan coast guard
Two Italian journalists, Nancy Porsia y Nello Scavoreporters from ‘Avvenire’, commented that it was unusual that the Italian Intelligence Services did not notice Milad’s presence at the meetingfueling speculation that Italian authorities were aware of the presence of human traffickers among the Libyan coast guard.
Scavo told British media that Milad had frequently threatened to reveal secrets among human traffickers and the Libyan authorities.
Milad was arrested in 2020, released in 2021 and Promoted from captain to commander. He consistently denied any links to human trafficking and moved freely around western Libya for two years following his arrest.
Peter Stano, spokesman for the European Unionsaid that the EU would continue to encourage the Libyan authorities to bring to justice those responsible for human trafficking, including Milad, who was also sanctioned by the EU in 2018.
The EU allies itself with the Libyan coast guard
The EU has partnered with the Libyan Coast Guard to try to stop crossingsHowever, rights groups say this strategy often leaves migrants at the mercy of armed groups or confined in migrant detention centers plagued by human rights abuses.
Libya is one of the main migratory channels for people from Africa and the Middle East who They hope to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterraneanor, often in poorly constructed boats plying dangerous waters.
On Saturday, The Libyan Coast Guard intercepted a boat full of 64 migrants bound for Europe, a few days after a ship with 32 people capsized off the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk and left 22 missing.
