Hidden camera sticks: migrants auctioned in Libya

tripoli - Migrants are sold as libraries in Libya as slaves. That told the US news channel CNN based on its own research.

Journalists saw in a building outside Tripoli last month that more than ten people were auctioned in six to seven minutes. The auctioneer called one 'slave' very suitable for excavation work. 'Does anyone need a grave? This is a digger. A big strong man, 'it sounded.

CNN made surveys with hidden cameras and handed the evidence to the Libyan authorities. They promised to launch an investigation. The country lacks a strong central government since the uprising that led to the fall and death of dammator Muammar al-Kaddafi in 2011.

The auctioned people are, according to CNN, refugees and migrants. As the Libyan coastguard is getting harder, smugglers can send less boats to Europe. They would therefore open up to slave traders.