Over 300 migrants kidnapped in Libya, threatened with organ removal
Nexus Europa Newsroom
Posted Jun 9, 2026, 01:30 PM UTC · In the digest of 2026-06-09-1330
Over 300 Iraqi Kurdish migrants en route to the UK were reportedly kidnapped in Libya by a militia, tortured, and threatened with organ removal, with captors demanding a $5,000 ransom per person.
More than 300 migrants, primarily young men from Iraqi Kurdistan, were reportedly kidnapped, tortured, and threatened with forced organ removal in Libya last summer. A militia allegedly held the individuals captive, demanding a ransom of $5,000 from each family. The captors reportedly threatened to harvest the migrants' kidneys if the payments were not made promptly. Some former hostages have since shared their accounts of the ordeal. The migrants were attempting to reach the United Kingdom when they were intercepted.
Sources: BBC News