Over 220 migrants freed from secret underground prison in Libya

Libyan authorities have freed more than 220 migrants from a secret underground prison in southeastern Libya. The discovery adds to ongoing concerns that trafficking, detention-for-ransom, and forced labor remain widespread in Libya, particularly along routes shaped by interception and return policies.

Some held for up to 2 years underground

Authorities uncovered the underground prison in Libya’s remote Kufra region, where traffickers held migrants in severe conditions. Security sources said the facility sat nearly three meters below ground and held people for months or years. Those freed reportedly came from sub-Saharan Africa, including Somalia and Eritrea. Women and children were among them.

InfoMigrants reports,

“Some of the freed migrants were held captive for up to two years in the underground cells,” one of the sources said, adding that the person believed to be operating the prison had not yet been apprehended.

The discovery came days after authorities found more than 20 migrant bodies in a mass grave in eastern Libya. Seawatch International is certain where the blame belongs. “Their deaths are a direct consequence of EU migration politics. Libya is not a safe place for people on the move!”

Detention for ransom and forced labor remain routine in Libya

The Kufra case reflects patterns long reported across Libya. Armed groups and traffickers routinely detain migrants in horrible conditions and demand payment for their release. Many families receive threats or calls demanding ransoms of around $500 or more. Migrants who cannot pay often face prolonged detention, abuse, or forced labor.

Reports from previous cases describe people held in overcrowded cells with little food or water. Guards use violence to enforce control. Women and girls face heightened risks of sexual abuse. These practices appear repeatedly in detention sites operating outside formal oversight, particularly in southern regions far from scrutiny.

EU-backed returns continue to funnel migrants into abuse

Libya remains a central transit point for people fleeing conflict, violence or poverty trying to reach Europe.

InfoMigrants reports,

The European Union meanwhile works closely with Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli to stop migrants from reaching Europe. Tens of thousands of migrants are intercepted each year by the Libyan Coast Guard, which often operates with EU-funded boats and training.

The migrants who are brought back can easily end up in the hands of such traffickers, as detention facilities are typically operated by private groups for profit and are not managed directly by the government itself.

Despite extensive documentation of these risks, the EU presses on with its arrangement with Libya. Freedom United is calling on the EU to end cooperation that enables returns to Libya and to prioritize protection over containment, so people are no longer pushed back into environments where trafficking and exploitation remain routine.