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Facebook slammed for publishing videos of ‘migrants being tortured by smugglers who post footage online to get ransom from their families’

FACEBOOK has been slammed for publishing grim videos of migrants being abused and tortured by people smugglers – who send horrific clips to their victims’ families for ransoms.

Disturbing footage of beatings and abuse has remained on the social media site for months, The Times reports.

 Videos of migrants being tortured by people smugglers has been posted on Facebook (file image of migrants at a detention centre in Libya)
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Videos of migrants being tortured by people smugglers has been posted on Facebook (file image of migrants at a detention centre in Libya)Credit: Reuters
 Vile clips remained online for months, the Times reports
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Vile clips remained online for months, the Times reportsCredit: AP:Associated Press

Libyan traffickers broadcast the vile footage so they can demand ransoms of up to £7,800 from the families of migrants who pass through the North African country on the way to Europe.

One harrowing video shows emaciated and injured men huddled in a concrete cellar, describing how they are beaten with iron bars and pleading for their lives.

A young Somali man lying face down with a heavy concrete block on his back says: "I was asked for $8,000.

"They broke my teeth. They broke my hand. I have been here for 11 months.

"They put this stone on me for the last three days. It's agony."

Another trapped migrant cries out: "My brother, my brother, we are dead. I beg you, do whatever you can."

Footage was also posted on Facebook on June 9 and was still online yesterday, according to the Times.

A UN agency last night condemned Facebook for allowing smuggler gangs to use the site "to advertise their services, entice vulnerable people on the move and then exploit them and their families".

Mohammed Abdiker, of the International Organisation for Migration, said: "It is irresponsible for tech companies like Facebook to ignore this issue.

"It's hard to believe that the tech giants cannot put some real effort into stopping these smugglers from using their platforms for racketeering.”

Facebook was also criticised for failing to stop smuggler gangs from advertising their services.

 These migrants were rescued from an unsafe smuggler boat crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya
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These migrants were rescued from an unsafe smuggler boat crossing the Mediterranean Sea from LibyaCredit: AFP

Europol had reports of 1,150 social media accounts “openly advertising or being associated with organised migrant smuggling” last year, up from just 148 in 2015.

It said traffickers were using Facebook to target “vulnerable migrants with attractive and unrealistic offers for ‘safe’ sea crossings”.

Facebook said: “Offering services to take part in, support or promote people smuggling on Facebook, violates our Community Standards.

"We also believe it is important that Facebook continues to be a place where people can raise awareness of important, and sometimes controversial issues.

"This specific video was posted to condemn the content, so we would not consider it a violation of our policies. However, the content is alarming, and we have marked the video as disturbing. This means there will be a warning screen and the video’s distribution will be limited to those aged 18 and over.”

They added: “People smuggling is illegal and any posts, pages or groups that co-ordinate this activity are not allowed on Facebook.

"We encourage people to keep using our reporting tools to flag this kind of behaviour so it can be reviewed and swiftly removed by our global team of experts, who work with law enforcement agencies around the world.”

It had no comment on the abuse video hosted on its site, according to the Times.

Earlier this year the IOM revealed how Libyan gangs were selling migrants at slave markets for as little as £155. Men were tortured and women raped by the smugglers, the UN agency said.

Libya is a major route for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Europe.

But its fragile government struggles to control the heavily armed criminal gangs who run trafficking routes and charge desperate people huge sums for spaces on crowded and dangerous boats.

Libya's PM warned Europe faces a terror threat from jihadis posing as refugees unless it helps tackle the migrants crisis.


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