AN Eritrean man accused of torturing and extorting African refugees in Libya denied to Dutch judges on Monday that he is the alleged trafficker prosecutors say he is, according to Reuters.
Reuters reports that the suspect, who was extradited to the Netherlands in 2022, has consistently denied being 41-year-old Amanuel Walid, also known as Tewelde Goitom. According to the news agency, the man has provided a different name and date of birth in earlier procedural hearings and maintained that position on Monday.
“I am still the one I said I was earlier,” the suspect told judges through an interpreter, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the suspect faces charges of membership in a human trafficking ring, money laundering, use of violence and extortion.
Prosecutors allege that Goitom and his organisation established a migration route to Europe via Libya, where they detained African migrants in warehouses and tortured them to extract ransoms from their families, Reuters reports.
The news agency reports that at the trial’s opening, the defence asked judges to dismiss the majority of charges, arguing that Dutch courts lack jurisdiction because there is no clear connection to the Netherlands.
According to Reuters, under universal jurisdiction, Dutch law broadly permits cases against foreign nationals for crimes committed abroad if victims are in the Netherlands.
Defence lawyer Simcha Plas argued that while this may apply to some extortion charges if victims were in the Netherlands, the trafficking and torture charges should be dropped because they occurred in Libya and most victims were trafficked to Italy rather than the Netherlands, Reuters reports.
According to the news agency, prosecutors were scheduled to respond later on Monday.
Reuters notes that since Muammar Gaddafi’s fall during a NATO-backed uprising in 2011, Libya has become a major transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean.
