Torture, threats of organ harvesting... The nightmare of hundreds of Kurdish migrants kidnapped for ransom in Libya

More than 300 illegal migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan who wanted to reach the UK were kidnapped and tortured by a Libyan militia as early as the summer of 2025. Some likely had their organs harvested in exchange for their release, reveals the British channel BBC.

The events date back to the summer of 2025. During that summer, several groups of undocumented migrants, mostly young men, embarked on a journey into exile from Iraqi Kurdistan, their region of origin. They all hoped to reach the United Kingdom. But once they arrived in Libya, these groups of migrants were kidnapped by the militia that was supposed to take them across the country to the Mediterranean coast, as revealed by the British broadcaster BBC.

These serial kidnappings are the result of a dispute between the militia and the smuggler who organized one of these journeys, Noah Aaron, a Kurd from Iraq, according to our colleagues. Aaron, currently imprisoned in France for money laundering and smuggling offenses, allegedly failed to pay for a previous transit, the Libyan militia claimed.

Photos of kidney scars on migrants

$5,000 per migrant is being demanded from families for their release. The families have been warned: if payments don't arrive quickly enough, the ransoms will be paid "with a kidney." Thousands of dollars had already been paid by the migrants' relatives for the journey, according to the BBC, which obtained testimonies from some families.

Torture, threats of organ harvesting... The nightmare of hundreds of Kurdish migrants kidnapped for ransom in Libya

More than 300 illegal migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan who wanted to reach the UK were kidnapped and tortured by a Libyan militia as early as the summer of 2025. Some likely had their organs harvested in exchange for their release, reveals the British channel BBC.

Illegal migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan were victims of human trafficking by a Libyan militia during their transit through Libya. They were threatened with kidney harvesting if they did not pay a ransom. Kurdistan Regional Government

The events date back to the summer of 2025. During that summer, several groups of undocumented migrants, mostly young men, embarked on a journey into exile from Iraqi Kurdistan, their region of origin. They all hoped to reach the United Kingdom. But once they arrived in Libya, these groups of migrants were kidnapped by the militia that was supposed to take them across the country to the Mediterranean coast, as revealed by the British broadcaster BBC.

These serial kidnappings are the result of a dispute between the militia and the smuggler who organized one of these journeys, Noah Aaron, a Kurd from Iraq, according to our colleagues. Aaron, currently imprisoned in France for money laundering and smuggling offenses, allegedly failed to pay for a previous transit, the Libyan militia claimed.

Photos of kidney scars on migrants

$5,000 per migrant is being demanded from families for their release. The families have been warned: if payments don't arrive quickly enough, the ransoms will be paid "with a kidney." Thousands of dollars had already been paid by the migrants' relatives for the journey, according to the BBC, which obtained testimonies from some families.

Videos of the hostages are being sent to them, images that are "disturbing or violent" to watch, our colleagues report. One of them shows a young man being told that he is going to be taken to a doctor to have a kidney removed.

Despite the ransom being paid, the father of a man kidnapped by the militia recounted that his son, while still a captive, had sent him a photo of a scar on his body, likely caused by organ harvesting. Dozens of people showed similar photos to the BBC, which conducted an on-site investigation.

Our colleagues were unable to prove that any organs were actually removed. However, a British consultant who viewed one of the photos stated that the scars resemble incisions made during kidney operations.

178 people locked up for six months in a cell

To date, many of the hostages held by the Libyan militia have been released from the prison complexes where they were held in appalling conditions. But "Kurdish authorities suspect some hostages of having paid for their release with their own organs," the BBC reports.

A 16-year-old boy, now back in Ranya, a city in northern Iraqi Kurdistan, claims he was tortured by the militia. He told the British broadcaster that one of his legs was burned, showing the scars as evidence. The young man explained that he was herded into a cell with 178 other people.

The space was so cramped that the smugglers' hostages were forced to sleep standing up. They had to share a single toilet, and those who spent too much time there were beaten, according to our colleagues. A piece of bread a day was given to the kidnapped individuals, provided they paid an additional sum to their captors, according to the victims' families.

These inhumane detention conditions lasted six months, the teenager interviewed stated. To date, our colleagues do not know how many Kurds remain imprisoned in these jails. One migrant is reported to have died in detention.

Human trafficking perpetrated by Libyan militias is a phenomenon documented by United Nations reports. These crimes are carried out with almost total impunity due to the absence of state authority over vast swathes of Libyan territory, a UN advisor who investigated human trafficking in the country explained to our colleagues.

The accounts of these kidnappings are chilling. They do not, however, deter other residents of Iraqi Kurdistan from attempting the same path of exile, as a senior official from the Kurdistan Regional Government's Interior Ministry reminded the BBC. In January 2026, 110 hostages held since the summer of 2025 by the Libyan militia were repatriated by the Iraqi government.