Dutch prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for Eritrean national Amanuel Walid, also known as Tewelde Goitom, in what has become the largest human-trafficking trial in the Netherlands. Goitom, 42, is accused of leading a vast criminal network that trafficked African migrants to Europe through Libya—one of the most dangerous migration corridors in the world. Prosecutors say his organization kidnapped, detained, and tortured thousands of migrants in Libyan warehouses between 2014 and 2020. According to court documents, victims were held in overcrowded, filthy compounds where they were subjected to daily beatings, electric shocks, starvation, sexual violence, and other forms of torture. The abuse was often carried out while family members were forced to listen over the phone as part of ransom demands that ranged from $5,000 to $15,000 per person. Several migrants are believed to have died from injuries, dehydration, or execution.
Goitom, extradited to the Netherlands from Ethiopia in 2022 following lengthy international investigations, denies all charges. He told judges at the Zwolle district court that he is the victim of mistaken identity and exercised his right to remain silent. Prosecutors, however, say hundreds of survivors have independently identified him as one of the main coordinators of the Libyan trafficking hubs. The case is considered a landmark in Europe, where only a handful of trials have targeted the leaders of transnational trafficking networks operating out of Libya networks widely accused by the UN of crimes against humanity. A verdict is expected in January 2026, with human-rights groups calling the trial a crucial step toward accountability for abuses along the Central Mediterranean migration route.
