The court of appeal has rejected claims by the Home Office that being kidnapped for ransom is not exploitation of trafficking victims. The ruling means that many people who have been kidnapped for ransom, whom officials have previously excluded from being victims of exploitation under trafficking rules, will now have to have these claims considered. They may be eligible for the support and recovery package trafficking victims are entitled to.
Being kidnapped for ransom is a common hazard for asylum seekers passing through Libya on their journey to Europe. Many are fleeing conflict in countries such as Sudan and Eritrea as well as some Middle Eastern countries. The legal challenge was brought by a Syrian asylum seeker who cannot be identified.
The 25-year-old fled forced military conscription in July 2021, knowing he was likely to be imprisoned and tortured in Syria for refusing to fight. He arrived in Libya, ultimately hoping to reach the UK. He and other Syrians were abducted by armed men and held in captivity for a month between August and September 2021.
His money and phone were seized and they were driven through the desert for 24 hours, hearing gunshots, with no food and little water. They were told they would not be released until their families agreed to pay a ransom of several thousand dollars. He was tied up and often beaten on his hands and feet by his kidnappers.
He and the other captives had to phone their families to beg them to pay their kidnappers the ransom money. While they were on the phone, the kidnappers beat them so their families could hear screams. He was terrified that even if his family paid his captors, he might not be released and that his organs might be harvested.
The man was released after his family paid his kidnappers, and he made his way to Europe, crossing the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy by boat. He crossed the Channel from France to the UK on 16 May 2022 and claimed asylum. The Home Office rejected his trafficking claim, arguing that because he had not been subjected to forced labour by his kidnappers, his experience did not meet the definition of exploitation in the trafficking rules.
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