Hundreds of migrants allegedly held captive
More than 300 migrants heading to the UK last summer were kidnapped, tortured and threatened with forced organ removal, the BBC has learned.
The young men, all from Iraqi Kurdistan, were captured in Libya by a militia who demanded a ransom of $5,000 (£3,700) from each of their families and threatened to harvest the captives’ kidneys if payment was not made promptly.
The BBC said it had spoken to former hostages who have since been released and reviewed photographic evidence suggesting forced operations may have taken place.
The former captives showed evidence of torture and described being held in cramped conditions, with nearly 180 people sharing a single cell.
At least one hostage is known to have died, while it remains unclear how many are still being held.
Dispute between smugglers and militia
According to the report, the militia had initially been expected to guide the migrants through Libya towards the Mediterranean coast.
However, a dispute reportedly emerged over payments involving Iraqi Kurdish people-smuggler Noah Aaron, who had organised the migrants’ journey.
Aaron is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in France for separate money laundering and smuggling offences.
The kidnappings came to light during a BBC investigation into another smuggler, Kardo Jaf, who was arrested last month.
The two men are believed to have worked together in the past and both originate from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Families shown disturbing images
The BBC reported that migrants who arrived in Libya during the summer of 2025 were taken to a guarded compound and imprisoned.
Families were allegedly told they must pay $5,000 per hostage or payment would be taken “with a kidney”.
Captors reportedly sent photos and videos to relatives, including footage showing a young man being told he was being taken to have a kidney removed.
One father from Ranya told the BBC he paid the ransom and that his son was among 110 hostages flown home in January on a government-organised flight.
He also showed a photograph of a scar that the family feared could have been linked to a forced organ removal procedure.
Medical experts consulted by the BBC said some of the scars appeared consistent with kidney surgery incisions, although the broadcaster said it had been unable to independently verify that organs had been removed.
Accounts of torture and abuse
Several former hostages described severe mistreatment during captivity.
One young man said he had been tortured by having his leg burned. He rolled up his trousers to show the scars.
A 16-year-old boy said he had been one of 178 kept in a tiny cell: “We didn’t see the Sun for six months.”
It was so cramped, he said, that everyone had to sleep sitting up. All the prisoners shared a single toilet, and those who took too long would be beaten.
Food consisted of one piece of bread per day, the hostages’ families told the BBC – but only if they paid the captors extra money.
Warnings fail to halt migration
Kidnapping for ransom has been widely documented along migration routes through Libya, where weak state control and the presence of armed groups have allowed trafficking networks to flourish.
Officials in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region have urged survivors to share their experiences in an effort to discourage others from attempting the same journey.
However, authorities acknowledge that migration towards Europe continues despite the risks.
A senior official at the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of the Interior told the BBC that even after one family buried a son who died in Libya following a suspected forced organ removal, relatives had already left for Europe.
“The very sad part of this business is we do not learn,” he said.
Source: BBC
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