Refugees in Libya Detail Abuse and Extortion in Tobruk Detention Centre

Refugees held in Libya have accused authorities of systematic violence, torture, and extortion, with new videos surfacing from a detention facility in Tobruk that reveal grim conditions.

In footage shared by the NGO Refugees in Libya earlier this month, dozens of people are shown lying on the floor of a cramped cell without blankets, mattresses, or shoes. The organisation says more than 900 migrants are being held in the facility, although the video captures only around 100.

A second clip, posted 10 days later, depicts a visibly weak man handcuffed to window bars, reportedly after refusing to unlock his iPhone for guards. According to testimonies, he was beaten repeatedly and forced to stand overnight before being thrown into solitary confinement.

The detention centre, officially run by Libya’s Agency for the Fight Against Illegal Immigration and located in the Al-Butnan district of Tobruk, is under the authority of the eastern-based government allied with Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.

“You pay to get out”

Omar, a Sudanese refugee who was previously detained there, told Observers that guards demand bribes for release. “If you are Sudanese, they ask for 2,500 Libyan dinars [€392],” he said. “Other nationalities, like Chadians, Egyptians, Ethiopians, Yemenis, Syrians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, South Sudanese or Somalis, must pay up to 7,000 dinars [€1,100].” Omar says he eventually secured his freedom after paying a large sum.

Disease, hunger, and abuse

He described overcrowded cells, lack of food and water, and extreme temperatures. “At night, the rooms were suffocating, with no ventilation. In the morning, it was freezing. Illness spread easily—scabies, rashes, fevers, everything,” he recalled.

Refugees also reported routine beatings. “There’s an area where soldiers strike people with metal rods or anything at hand,” Omar said. “Even in the food line, if someone steps out, they are attacked. Violence is constant.”

Widespread problem

Aid groups say these accounts are not isolated. Thousands of migrants are locked up across Libya in similar conditions, many facing torture and ransom demands. In 2023, Médecins Sans Frontières urged the creation of humanitarian corridors to protect asylum seekers trapped in the country.

Libya remains fractured since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with rival administrations governing the west and east. Against this backdrop of political instability, refugees attempting to reach Europe continue to face extortion, abuse, and indefinite detention.