A Sudanese refugee, Mazen Adam has been freed from a detention center in western Libya after being kidnapped and held for five months.
Reports from his family suggested that he was subjected to torture and demands for ransom. Libyan authorities, however, have not dropped charges against him, stating that the story was fabricated and that he is only being released until further investigation.
Mazen’s father and Libyan rights groups refute these claims. The young refugee suffered torture-related injuries and is scheduled to receive a medical check-up from UNHCR doctors on February 12.
“Police in Warshafana conspired with the kidnappers who tortured my son,” he said, adding that the kidnappers have escaped and that the police did not go after them.
His family is registered as refugees in Libya. The case of Mazen demonstrates the ongoing issue of human rights violations experienced by migrants in Libya, which has become a primary transit point for some Africans heading to the Middle East heading or Europe.