On the dirty work – Der Spiegel (Mohannad al-Najjar, Mohammad Bassiki, Bashar Deeb, Klaas van Dijken, Alexander Epp, Maud Jullien, Steffen Lüdke, Jack Sapoch, Tomas Statius, Lina Verschwele):

‘Even after several days at sea, everything still seemed to be just fine, says Bassel Nahas. Together with around a hundred other refugees, the Syrian had set out from the Libyan coast toward Europe. Nahas, a 36-year-old whose name has been changed for this article, was dreaming of starting a new life in the Netherlands, hoping to bring over his wife and two children later.’

(…)

‘But on August 18, as the ship reached the zone within which Malta is responsible for search and rescue operations, he says, a ship flying the Libyan flag approached. The passengers on board the migrant vessel called out to the Libyan crew that they had women and children on board, says Nahas. "But they accused us of having weapons and drugs, and opened fire on our boat.” The Libyan ship pursued them for three hours, says Nahas, before violently forcing the passengers of the refugee vessel onto their own ship. Frontex says that one of their drones filmed the scene from the air. Nahas recalls that he was able to read the name of the unit the men belonged to on their uniforms: Tareq Bin Zeyad.
The Libyans, he continues, took them prisoner and brought them to the Port of Benghazi. There, in the eastern Libyan city, a place he had never been before, the men abused the refugees. "They took us inside and started beating us.” Nahas says. "They beat us until our bodies turned black from the blows.” The Libyans then threw them into the harbor. Nahas says he spent hours in the water, the salt burning his wounds.’

(…)

‘It is almost impossible to independently verify Nahas’ account of torture in Libya. But his story matches accounts from other refugees. The European Court of Human Rights ruled back in 2012 that asylum seekers on their way to Europe must not be brought to Libya because of the risk of torture and death.
Europe though, seems to ignore that risk. For years, EU officials have been working together with the Libyan coast guard. Libya is currently divided in two, with the internationally recognized government controlling the western part and a rival group in the east, which controls Benghazi. The coast guard in the western part of the country intercepts asylum seekers at sea before they can reach the coast of Europe.’

(…)

‘Haftar is propped up by a network of militias, including the Tareq Bin Zeyad Brigade, or TBZ – the group that Bassel Nahas says took him prisoner on the Mediterranean. The militia answers to Saddam Haftar, the warlord’s favorite son. According to Amnesty International, his men have committed rape and torture, have people disappeared and execute prisoners. According to a confidential EU report, they are supported by Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. The militia did not respond to a query sent by DER SPIEGEL.
Officially, the EU distances itself from the militia. The TBZ is not a "legitimate partner,” says a European Commission spokesman. "We don’t deal with them.” But is that really true? Or might it be the case that the EU no longer relies solely on the coast guard in western Libya but also secretly cooperates with Haftar’s thugs in the east?’

(…)

‘The reporting has found that the Europeans have provided assistance to TBZ operations aimed at bringing migrants back to Libya, so-called "pull-backs.” In at least three instances, it can be proven that Frontex or Maltese authorities discovered the refugee vessels that were then pulled back to Libya from the Maltese search and rescue zone by Haftar’s men – despite the fact that the Europeans, according to international treaties, are required to direct rescue operations in that zone. In some cases, the coordinates of the refugee boats were passed on to the militia indirectly, in other cases directly – and in one case, it seems the information was apparently almost forced upon them.
Haftar’s militia apparently takes care of the dirty work that the Europeans want nothing to do with. His men, more reminiscent of a criminal gang than a standard coast guard, essentially became EU henchmen – despite the fact that they also earn money from human trafficking operations in Libya.’ (…)

‘The TBZ is seen as a flexible organization that frequently takes on new tasks. In recent years, the militia has grown significantly, and is currently thought to include between 6,000 and 8,000 men.
Their ship, the Tareq Bin Zeyad, was registered by a company headquartered in Dubai. Who paid for it to be sent to Libya is unclear. But since spring, the Europeans have been keeping an eye on the ship’s operations. On May 25, a militia with connections to Haftar’s army brought migrants back to Libya for the first time, according to a confidential report compiled by the EU mission IRINI, which patrols the Mediterranean. Since then, the militia has intercepted more than 1,000 people.’

(…)

‘Frontex says that it never had direct communication with TBZ in this incident or at any other time. The agency says it deemed the boat unseaworthy and felt that the people onboard the refugee vessel were in serious danger, which is why they sent out a distress signal. Later, before the aircraft left the area due to dwindling fuel supplies, Frontex said it supplied the rescue control centers with fresh coordinates and issued another mayday. This call, too, received no response, according to Frontex, which added that they are fundamentally not responsible for coordinating rescue operations.’

(…)

‘The EU officials didn’t seem particularly bothered by the actions taken by the militia. In an internal briefing that DER SPIEGEL has obtained, Frontex refers to the Tareq Bin Zeyad as a coast guard patrol boat. In the report, the agency also documents that on August 16, it sent the position of a refugee ship out to rescue control centers, including the one in Tripoli. The officials there apparently passed the information along to Haftar’s men, something they say they do regularly. When it comes to refugees, it appears, the enemy camps in Libya aren't quite as averse to cooperation. Two hours later, the Tareq Bin Zeyad intercepted the refugees in the Libyan search and rescue zone, which Frontex also recorded.’

(…)

‘In early May, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received Haftar in Rome in an effort to convince him to stop refugee boats from making their way toward the EU. Italy’s interior minister spoke of possible financial assistance for TBZ and even of potentially providing training to Haftar’s people. Experts saw the meeting as a turning point. That same month, the crew of the Tareq Bin Zeyad began their work.’

(…)

‘Tareq Bin Zeyad. Tareq Bin Zeyad. I have a position for you. Do you want the position?” the man’s voice says. In all likelihood, the voice belongs to the pilot of a Maltese aircraft that was circling the area at the time.
When contacted, Maltese officials did not deny that the radio contact took place. A military spokesman said that pilots are obliged to transmit information to ships in the area if they might be able to provide assistance. International law expert Markard, though, sees the incident as an obvious violation of the law of the sea. "One might call it pushback by proxy, with TBZ acting on behalf of Malta,” she says.’

(…)

‘Hardly any boats leave the Port of Benghazi without their knowledge. Migrants and Libyan insiders say it is TBZ who organizes transportation of the migrants from the airport to the coast. Only those who pay enough money there are allowed to board one of the vessels.
European diplomats have known about this for months. An internal German Foreign Ministry document that summarizes an EU meeting notes that Haftar’s efforts at stopping the migrants from reaching Europe are primarily a pretext for receiving international support. In truth, the report notes, his militia profits from human trafficking.
Bassel Nahas says it is a reality that he experienced first-hand. After 22 days of torture, the TBZ turned him over to a different armed group, he says. Only after an acquaintance of his paid 4,000 euros in ransom was he released, Nahas claims. The negotiations were conducted via WhatsApp, and DER SPIEGEL has obtained screenshots of the messages, in which the telephone number of the person demanding the ransom can be seen.
Via a Facebook account, it leads to one of Haftar’s men.’

Read the article here.

Torture by proxy. Pushback by proxy. Death by proxy.

Frontex, an EU organization, is not becoming less but more criminal. This might be what they mean by managing migration.