300 Migrants to UK Kidnapped in Libya, Threatened With Kidney Removal

Mon Jun 15 2026 09:05:24 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

More than 300 young men from Iraqi Kurdistan were abducted in Libya, held in overcrowded cells, and demanded ransoms with the threat of kidney removal.

BBC reports that 300 migrant youths bound for the United Kingdom were taken hostage in Libya by a militia demanding a ransom of five thousand pounds per family. There are indications that the captors threatened organ removal if payment was delayed, and images suggest forced organ procedures may have taken place. Hostages endured cramped confinement, minimal food, and torture, with one man burned on the leg and another kept in a cell with no daylight for months. The smuggler organising the journey, Noah Aaron, is now imprisoned in France for related offences.

300 Migrants to UK Kidnapped in Libya, Threatened With Kidney Removal

BBC reports that more than 300 young men from Iraqi Kurdistan set out to travel to the United Kingdom last summer but were seized in Libya and held in a compound. A militia demanded a ransom of five thousand pounds for each family and threatened to remove the hostages’ kidneys if payment was not made in a short time.

Images that the BBC examined appear to show signs of forced organ removal. A photograph of a host, captured by the group, displayed a raw scar that experts believe could result from kidney removal, although confirmation has been limited.

The hostages described the conditions inside the compound as overcrowded, with almost 180 men sharing one cell. They received a single slice of bread each day only if families paid additional money, and they were subject to violent tactics such as the burning of a leg. Families were told that if a prisoner’s family did not comply with the ransom demands, they could loose a kidney.

The smuggler who arranged the routes for the migrants, named Noah Aaron, is now serving a ten‑year prison sentence in France for separate money‑laundering and smuggling offences. The idea that the militia had a relationship with Aaron led investigators to study their activities and uncover the chain of hostages unfolding in Libya.

Despite the danger, migration from Iraqi Kurdistan to Europe continues. Officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government urge former hostages and families to share their experiences to discourage others from following the same path.