The Libyan embassy in Kenya stated that the Libyan people nor government should be unfairly blamed following media reports of migrants allegedly being sold as slaves in the country.
Mr. Mabruk Daia the embassy's Chargé d' Affaires comments come barely a week after Kenya's Standard Newspaper published a story suggesting that a number of Kenyans migrants in Libya could have been part of those allegedly sold as slaves.
It followed the broadcast by a western media outlet of a video it claimed to show African migrants and refugees being offered for sale to do manual labour for Sh40,000 (US$400) outside the capital Tripoli.
The envoy's noted that organised transnational criminal gangs had taken advantage of political instability and insecurity in Libya.
[caption caption="Mr. Mabruk Daia the embassy's Chargé d' Affaires"]
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He further added that due to its long and porous borders the gangs had run human trafficking and illegal immigration syndicates to Europe, leaving migrants vulnerable to abuse and exploitation at their hands.
Mr. Daia maintained that investigations into the matter by Libyan authorities were currently ongoing to establish if the reports of slave auctions were indeed true.
"The Libyan people and government stand firmly against such inhuman practices which are incompatible with our values and laws,” Mr Daia stated.
"Any practices recorded against migrants are nothing more than individual practices by criminals," he remarked quoting statements from the country's Foreign and Justice Ministries.
The envoy further clarified that the Libyan embassy in Nairobi did not issue visas to Kenyans, especially unskilled persons, seeking to travel to Libya till they were vetted by Kenya's Foreign Ministry and issued with approval letters.
[caption caption="Men held in the detention camps in Libya"]
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"As a result of this strict requirement, many Kenyans seeking visas to Libya have been turned away in order to minimise risks of them joining or falling victim to criminal groups or being trafficked across the Mediterranean to Europe," he stated.
