{"id":154797,"date":"2026-01-27T12:18:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T10:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/154797-sans-la-moindre-humanite.html"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T17:17:42","slug":"without-any-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html","title":{"rendered":"\"Without any humanity\""},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A Dutch court<\/a> on Tuesday sentenced an Eritrean man to 20 years in prison for operating a human trafficking ring in which migrants were tortured and their families extorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court said the man, identified as Amanuel Walid, had treated migrants \"without any humanity\" as they were transported from Eritrea to Europe via Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Your only aim was to earn as much money as possible from people who were looking for a better future,\" presiding judge Rene Melaard told Walid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gang members abused thousands of migrants before detaining them in overcrowded and dirty camps in Libya, extorting their families for large sums of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court in the northern Dutch city of Zwolle heard how gang members tortured victims<\/a> while on the phone to their families in the Netherlands, demanding payments to make the abuse stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only once family members had transferred money were the victims put on rickety boats for the perilous trip across the Mediterranean Sea. Many drowned in the crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutors had called for the maximum sentence of 20 years, accusing him of leading a criminal organisation with the intent to commit human trafficking, extortion, hostage-taking, and sexual offences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The court finds that the seriousness and the extent of those crimes justifies such a 20-year sentence,\" said Melaard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted Walid had never expressed remorse for his actions and that a psychiatric observation centre had judged him mentally fit to take criminal responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melaard said he was also imposing the maximum sentence \"because of the particularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment to which the defendant and his accomplices subjected the migrants.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court ruled however it had no jurisdiction over the charges of hostage-taking and sexual offences as these alleged crimes did not take place on Dutch soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walid has been in custody in the Netherlands since October 2022. There is confusion over both his name and his age. He says he has a different name and is 46, not 42.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made no substantive comments in court, except to deny the charges. He said it is a case of mistaken identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the judge dismissed this claim, saying: \"The court finds that it is beyond reasonable doubt that you are the person who was active as a trafficker in Bani Walid in Libya.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His lawyers also argued that he has already been tried in Ethiopia over largely the same allegations and therefore could not be put on trial again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melaard said that the sentence in the Ethiopian case had not yet been applied but that Walid could appeal if it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

'Freedom and dignity'<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prosecutors believe Walid was one of the \"most prolific\" smugglers on the route from conflict-torn regions in Africa via Libya to Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walid \"deprived the victims of their freedom and dignity\", the public prosecutor argued in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"He held them in appalling conditions, starved them, tortured them, and denied them essential medical care,\" said the prosecutor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dutch investigation into the operation lasted several years and was carried out with other international bodies such as the International Criminal Court and Interpol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libya has struggled to recover from chaos that erupted after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the instability, with the country facing criticism over conditions for migrants and rights groups levelling accusations of extortion and slavery.<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t
Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
\"Walid's<\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\tMigrant smuggling: first trial concludes\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":154790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553,2801],"tags":[3921,2640],"ji_location":[2319,2373],"class_list":["post-154797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-feed","category-universal-jurisdiction","tag-human-trafficking","tag-torture-en","ji_location-libya","ji_location-netherlands"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n"Without any humanity"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Without any humanity"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JusticeInfo.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"afp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\""Without any humanity"\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"afp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"afp\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/713d340ef5f218fc36ce9b4244364a7f\"},\"headline\":\"\\\"Without any humanity\\\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\"},\"wordCount\":589,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"human trafficking\",\"torture\"],\"articleSection\":[\"AFP News Feed\",\"Universal jurisdiction\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Without any humanity\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Only once family members had transferred money were the victims put on rickety boats for the perilous trip across the Mediterranean Sea. Many drowned in the crossing. Photo: \u00a9 Louisa Gouliamaki \/ AFP\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\\\"Without any humanity\\\"\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"name\":\"JusticeInfo.net\",\"description\":\"For justice to be done, it must be seen\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Justice Info\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Justice Info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"afp\",\"url\":\"\/en\/?s=afp\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Without any humanity\"","description":"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Without any humanity\"","og_description":"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html","og_site_name":"JusticeInfo.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","article_published_time":"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"afp","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"\"Without any humanity\"","twitter_creator":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_site":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"afp","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html"},"author":{"name":"afp","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/713d340ef5f218fc36ce9b4244364a7f"},"headline":"\"Without any humanity\"","datePublished":"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html"},"wordCount":589,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg","keywords":["human trafficking","torture"],"articleSection":["AFP News Feed","Universal jurisdiction"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html","name":"\"Without any humanity\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-27T10:58:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-27T17:17:42+00:00","description":"On January 27, Eritrean national Amanuel Walid was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Dutch court for the \u201cparticularly cruel, violent, and degrading treatment that the defendant and his accomplices inflicted on migrants\u201d in Libya.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/Libya_migrants-destroyed-rubber-boast_@Louisa-Gouliamaki-AFP.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Only once family members had transferred money were the victims put on rickety boats for the perilous trip across the Mediterranean Sea. Many drowned in the crossing. Photo: \u00a9 Louisa Gouliamaki \/ AFP"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/154797-without-any-humanity.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\"Without any humanity\""}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","name":"JusticeInfo.net","description":"For justice to be done, it must be seen","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization","name":"Justice Info","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","width":1199,"height":1200,"caption":"Justice Info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"afp","url":"\/en\/?s=afp"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154797"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154802,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154797\/revisions\/154802"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154797"},{"taxonomy":"ji_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ji_location?post=154797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}