The BBC investigation has revealed that more than 300 young men from Iraqi Kurdistan were kidnapped in Libya during the summer of 2025. Their captors demanded a ransom of $5,000 ($3,700) from each family, threatening that families who could not pay would lose their kidneys.
The kidnapped men, all male and between the ages of 18 and 30, were held in a guarded compound in Libya. According to witnesses, the group was confined with nearly 180 people in a single cell that offered no sunlight for months. Food was reduced to a single loaf of bread a day, and anyone who lingered on the toilet was beaten.
The militia sent the hostages cameras and social media videos that showed some men being told they were about to have their kidneys removed. Photographs taken by the captors – and later shared online – display raw scars that match the incision made in a kidney operation, giving credence to the ransom threat.
While many of the prisoners were eventually freed after families paid the ransom, one hostage is known to have died during the ordeal. In January, a group of 110 hostages was flown back to Iraqi Kurdistan by a plane organised by the Iraqi government, but human rights experts note that other captives may have paid with their internal organs.
The kidnapping of these migrants was linked to the smuggling ring run by Noah Aaron, a former smuggler now serving a 10‑year sentence in France for money laundering and smuggling offences. Aaron was accused of colluding with the militia to demand the ransom, as the militant group expected payments for past deals.
The case underscores the dangerous realities migrants in the Iraqi Kurdistan region face when they try to reach Europe through Libya – an area dominated by a vacuum of government and rival militias that facilitate smuggling and extortion. Officials have urged anyone who survived the ordeal to warn others against embarking on such risky journeys.
