NB Twitter Scan | Emotions run high! MEA safely evacuates 17 Indians who were duped, tortured, jailed for 6 months in Libya
Total Views | 174
Emotions were riding high at the Delhi international airport late at night on Sunday as 17 Indian nationals returned to their homeland after six grueling months of being held in captivity by a mafia in Libya.
The group of 17 men who had gone to the African country for work were recently released from Tripoli Jail. They were duped by travel agents who had lured them with false promises of employment.
Family members and relatives who waiting at the airport were seen getting emotional as they received their loved ones who were extradited from Libya following a rescue operation with the help of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the United Nations.
VIDEO | 17 Indian youths, mostly from Punjab and Haryana, who were released from Tripoli Jail in Libya last month, returned to Delhi on Sunday night. They were in Libya for the past six months because of unscrupulous travel agents who duped them on the pretext of sending them to… pic.twitter.com/BhoXOJibrQ
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 21, 2023
Duped And Trapped
Reports suggest that many of the individuals left India between February and April this year. They were given "visas and work permits" through travel agencies and had hopes of landing a job in Italy. Many of their families had to sell their lands to fund their futures.
It was only later that they found out about the “donkey route”, a term used by traffickers to illegally push migrants to reach Western countries. The Indians were being held captive by an armed group in Zwara City in Libya after they were trafficked to that country, unidentified people told PTI.
The Rescue Operation
The case was brought to the attention of the Indian embassy in Tunis on May 26 by the family members of the stranded Indian nationals. The embassy regularly pursued the matter with Libyan authorities throughout May and June, as well as through informal channels.
The rescue operation started on June 13 but Libyan authorities kept the Indians in their custody, on the grounds that they had illegally entered the country. A high-level intervention was conducted by the Indian ambassador in Tunis and senior MEA officials from New Delhi. Subsequently, Libyan authorities agreed to release them.
During their stay in Libya, the Indian embassy looked after the needs of the Indians, including providing essential food items, medicines and clothes. Since they did not have passports, emergency certificates were issued for their travel to India.
Tickets for return to India were provided and paid for by the Indian embassy.
The Embassy of India to Libya successfully repatriated 17 Indian Nationals from Punjab and Haryana (on 19 August 2023), who were detained in Libya since February 2023. The Indians safely reached India on 20 August 2023 by Gulf Air flight at 2030 hrs. pic.twitter.com/gnRysnZaw5
— India in Tunisia (@IndiainTunisia) August 21, 2023
The Indian Nationals arrived in Libya after being duped by travel agents under the pretext of lucrative jobs in Italy and were detained by the mafia in Libya.
— India in Tunisia (@IndiainTunisia) August 21, 2023
On their social media account X (formerly known as Twitter), Indian Embassy in Tunisia said, "The Embassy of India to Libya successfully repatriated 17 Indian Nationals from Punjab and Haryana (on 19 August 2023), who were detained in Libya since February 2023. The Indians safely reached India on 20 August 2023 by Gulf Air flight at 2030 hrs."
Bharati Web
