Group urges EU to stop returning migrants to ‘hellish’ Libya

By SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International is urging the European Union to reverse its migration policy on Libya, saying the approach helps return migrants to “hellish” conditions in the North African country. It says more than 82,000 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in the past five years since the EU began its cooperation with Libyan authorities to block migrants from reaching European shores. It says many of those who have been returned to Libya, including women and children, are held in Libyan government-run detention centers where they suffer from abuse, including torture, rape and extortion.