Tunisian state involved in sale of migrant people to Libya, report finds

A report submitted to the European Parliament alleges that an international research group has accused Tunisian authorities of direct involvement in the expulsion and trafficking of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to Libya. The report, titled "State Trafficking: The Expulsion and Trafficking of Migrants from Tunisia to Libya," contains testimonies from 30 sub-Saharan African migrants who were trafficked between June 2023 and November 2024.

All testimonies describe "the interconnectedness between Tunisian police and military structures in the trafficking of people at the border, and the infrastructure behind the expulsions with the Libyan kidnapping industry." The report’s authors emphasize that the documented events and circumstances constitute "state crimes" under international law.

The anonymous network of researchers, RR[X], states in the report that migrants are first arrested in Tunisia, then taken to the border with Libya, housed in detention camps operated by Tunisian authorities, and subsequently sold to Libyan armed groups and the Libyan army. While not all interviewees witnessed the money paid for them, the most common price ranged from 40 to 300 Tunisian dinars (approximately $12.3 to $92.4) per person.

According to the report, "The price depends on the final value that the trafficked person can generate through ransom, the overall size of the group, and its composition." One witness told researchers, "Women are worth more because in Libya, women are seen as sex objects." When the migrants' families are contacted, Libyan kidnappers typically demand a ransom of 500 euros (approximately $513.4) or else the migrants will continue to be beaten and tortured.

At each stage of their forced transfer to Libya, witnesses recounted acts of humiliation, violence, and even torture. "They treat us as if we are not human," one witness told researchers. Another witness said, "In the buses, the National Guard in charge of border control searches our children and women, they touch the women. They touch our private parts, they rape women in the buses in front of the men. In front of our husbands, they don't care. They broke the heads of many men [because they protested], they abuse us as if we are animals..."

The report states that in the detention camps at the border, violence and torture are systematic, widespread, and recurrent. Individuals in uniform, but with uncovered faces, inflict violence on groups and individuals. The interviews report that they use iron bars, batons, tasers, dogs to threaten prisoners, and fire shots into the air. In some testimonies, witnesses mentioned instances where prisoners died due to violence and lack of care.

Tunisian authorities have not yet responded to the allegations. RR[X] explained in the report that its researchers decided to remain anonymous and use a collective pseudonym in order to "protect their safety while allowing them to continue researching topics that cannot be freely researched in Tunisia without facing intense repression."

Since February 2023, when Tunisian President Kais Saied accused migrants from sub-Saharan Africa of being involved in a "criminal plan" to alter the country's demographics and its Arab-Islamic identity, Tunisian authorities have been cracking down on activities aimed at helping migrants or denouncing racism. In May 2024, some prominent NGOs dedicated to helping migrants, such as Terre d'Asile Tunisie and the Tunisian Refugee Council, were closed, while at least a dozen activists and researchers have been imprisoned for working with migrants or expressing their views on the matter.

By submitting its findings to the European Parliament, RR[X] states its hope to "reopen the debate on the responsibility of the EU and individual member states in exposing mobile populations to the risk of death or enslavement." Human rights organizations have repeatedly highlighted the role of EU funding and support in human rights abuses against refugees in Libya. RR[X] researchers also aim to reignite discussions about the EU’s designation of Tunisia as a "safe country," which gives Tunisia a lucrative partner role in managing Europe’s external borders.

In October, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) stated in a report that the country had "seen a worrying increase in new practices," including "a worrying increase in cases of sexual violence against mobile populations, carried out with the complicity of Tunisian security forces personnel, or directly resulting from policies of forced displacement and expulsion of vulnerable groups." Tunisian authorities have denied these accusations.