European Union border agency Frontex and Maltese authorities have faced grave allegations regarding the sharing of coordinates of refugee boats departing Libya with a Russia-linked militia. A collaborative journalistic investigation led by Lighthouse Reports, and witnessed by a broad spectrum of international media, documents testimonies that describe mistreatment, torture, and forced labor after refugees were intercepted by the militia vessel. The reporting situates these claims within a troubling pattern that prompts questions about responsibility and safe rescue options in the central Mediterranean.
The investigation details a method that appears to connect Frontex and certain Maltese authorities to the transmission of distress signals or boat coordinates to the Tariq bin Zeyad militia, one of the most feared groups in the region. The accounts describe multiple pathways for relaying information: broadcast distress alerts heard by nearby ships, indirect channels to Tripoli, or direct communications with Libyan authorities allegedly facilitated by a Maltese pilot. In each scenario, the witnesses say, safer rescue alternatives were available, including commercial vessels, non-governmental organizations, or established sea rescue operations coordinated by Italy or Malta. The central concern raised by the journalists is not merely how information was shared but whether rescue duties were properly managed after a distress call, potentially exposing vulnerable people to further danger.
According to Nora Markard, an expert on international rights law who spoke with the investigative team, Frontex should have arranged for another organization to assume rescue responsibilities after a distress signal was detected. The expert suggests that Frontex may have been cognizant of a troubling dynamic that goes beyond a mere operational misstep, describing it, in her view, as a case of kidnapping rather than ransom. The militia identified in the reports is Tariq bin Zeyad, linked to a broader leadership structure described as dangerous and capable of coercion and violence. The group is associated with Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan factional leader who has received support from Russian mercenary networks, including the Wagner Group, and who has maintained influence over eastern Libya amid a fragmented security landscape. The testimony hints at a troubling chain of command and control that complicates search and rescue efforts and raises concerns about accountability and humanitarian obligations in the region.
Since May, Libyan militia forces connected to Tariq bin Zeyad have detained thousands of people attempting to reach Europe by sea. Those captured are reported to be returned to Libyan custody, where survivors recount fear, coercion, and ongoing hardship upon return. One survivor described a scene where pleas for mercy were met with gunfire, and refugees reported being subjected to prolonged confinement in militia-controlled facilities. Other testimonies allege that refugees were forced into labor under conditions akin to slavery, with some recounting coerced engagements that exploited their vulnerability for economic gain. The testimony corpus underscores the perils faced by migrants during and after the interception, highlighting a systematic pattern of coercion, intimidation, and violation of fundamental rights in the maritime and inland phases of repatriation. (Accounts compiled by Lighthouse Reports and corroborated by multiple international media partners.)
Libya’s political landscape has remained unstable since 2011, when the Gaddafi regime collapsed and civil conflict emerged as competing factions vied for influence. The country has since become a crossroads for migration toward Europe, with the Central Mediterranean route carrying a heavy toll on human life. Data from the International Organization for Migration indicates that thousands of migrants and refugees left Libyan shores in 2023, with a significant portion caught and returned. Among those affected, women and children constitute a substantial share of the casualties and displaced populations. These figures illuminate the ongoing risk environment for maritime crossings and the complex, often dangerous, leverage points that militias and other armed actors hold within Libyan borders. (IOM statistics and field reporting.)