5 Libya migrant smugglers held for torture

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 30 - Five migrant smugglers, three Bangladeshis and two Sudanese, who landed on 26 December in Lampedusa, were arrested by the police Monday for criminal conspiracy, aiding and abetting aggravated illegal immigration, torture, and kidnapping for the purpose of extortion in their treatment of migrants making the perilous crossing from Libya to Italy before the crossings were made from the North African country.
    Arrest warrants from the Palermo DDA anti-mafia office, issued last Tuesday, was validated by the preliminary investigations judge (GIP), who ordered the precautionary measure in prison for the five suspects.
    Some migrants reportedly denounced the violence they were allegedly subjected to in a Libyan 'safehouse' throughout their stay inside the compound and until shortly before their departure for Sicily (ANSA).