SOS MEDITERRANEE / Stefano Belacchi
John*, 17, is from Eritrea. He was rescued by the Ocean Viking on January 10, 2025, from a double-decker wooden boat in distress in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region, along with 100 women, men, and children. The boat had departed from Sabratha, Libya.
On his first attempt to cross the Mediterranean, on March 25, 2023, John was on board a rubber boat in distress in the same region. As the Ocean Viking approached to save the people on that boat, a Libyan Coastguard vessel violently intercepted the boat, firing warning shots over the Ocean Viking. This scene was documented by our team and by filmmaker Jean-Baptise Bonnet in his documentary Save our Souls.¹John shared with our team the events of that day, providing a firsthand account that sheds light on human rights violations in Libya and the collusion between the Libyan Coastguard and detention centers, including the one mentioned by John. His testimony aligns with findings documented in the UN report on Libya.
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Jérémie Lusseau
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Jérémie Lusseau
John shows the marks of torture on his body.
I was on a rubber boat with women, men, and children, about 80 people in total. We saw the Ocean Viking coming toward us to rescue us, but the Libyan Coastguard arrived and started shooting. The Ocean Viking left.
The Libyan Coastguard took us onto their vessel and beat all of us. I was thrown into a prison in Tripoli called Ain Zara, where I stayed for weeks before I could get out. My family had to pay $1,200 for my release. While in prison, I was tortured and beaten. There are thousands of us there, [in] 5 compounds. When I was set free, I kept working in Libya in construction to survive.
After five attempts to escape Libya, the Ocean Viking finally rescued me.
Testimony collected by Lucille Guenier
¹ See our video report on the incident and the violence and exploitation endured by people who are forcibly intercepted and illegally returned to Libya. For more information, see this France24 news report.
