20-years jail recommended for Eritrean alleged to have led brutal migrant-smuggling ring

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has recommended a 20-year prison sentence for 42-year-old Amanuel W., who is suspected of heading a major and brutally violent migrant-smuggling operation. According to prosecutors, the Eritrean smuggled large numbers of compatriots from Libya to Europe and made a great deal of money from it. “In terms of scale and severity, this is an exceptional case,” said the prosecutor.

Victims were detained in horrific conditions in Libyan camps, where numerous people are said to have died, according to witness accounts. Daily life reportedly involved constant beatings, torture, and sexual violence. Prosecutors say relatives of victims living in the Netherlands were extorted. The journeys by sea from Libya to Italy were life-threatening. The same applied to the overland route, from Eritrea through Sudan to the Libyan camps.

Witnesses have described W. as the cruelest human smuggler they have encountered. “He stripped the victims of their freedom and their dignity,” said the OM. The prosecutor stated: “W. saw the victims not as humans but as goods, and this went hand in hand with serious human rights violations.” Extortion frequently occurred by telephone, during which family members in the Netherlands heard the abuse of their relatives live.

W. mostly stayed silent during questioning and has not provided any significant statement in the court in Zwolle. He insists he is not the person the authorities want to convict, but the OM rejects this and asserts his identity is confirmed. According to prosecutors, he refuses to accept any responsibility, causing immense harm to his victims.

The probe into the human-smuggling network, carried out by the national office of the OM and the Royal Marechaussee, started in 2018, with close collaboration with Italian authorities and others.

W. had already received an 18-year prison term in Ethiopia on human-smuggling charges. He was extradited to the Netherlands in October 2022. Justice officials in the Netherlands are still awaiting the handover of a significant co-suspect of W., Kidane H. He is currently being held in the United Arab Emirates after he was arrested in Sudan in January 2023. In addition to these two main suspects, there are five others who are believed to have been involved in the extortion.

The defense for W. will deliver its arguments on Monday.The court is expected to deliver its verdict in January 2026.