Somalian asylum seeker Osman M. has been convicted of the rape, torture, and murder of fellow migrants whilst they were on their way to Europe.
Osman M., 22, was found guilty earlier this week in an Italian court after 17 of his migrant victims who had recognised him from their time in Libya testified against him. It is said that the 22-year-old, who was arrested in Milan in September of last year, had tortured the migrants to extort cash from their relatives, Die Welt reports.
Due to the fact that the Somalian was formerly the operator of a migrant camp in Libya, many migrants were within his reach and several ended up dying because he left their diseases untreated or purposefully starved them to death. Two young women said they had been raped by the migrant camp operator.
Senior prosecutor Marcello Tatangelo said the Somalian had no “moral compass” and felt he was able to play God because of his status and position. Fellow prosecutor Ilda Boccassini commented on the case saying: “In my 40-year career, I have never experienced such horror.”
Osman M. has denied the charges against him, claiming he had been a victim of violence, and according to his lawyer, the 22-year-old had been caught in between conflicts involving rival Somalian families.
The case is just the latest in Italy where prosecutors have revealed the horrors committed by migrants against other migrants and those committed by people smugglers.
In one case involving migrant trafficking kingpin Medhanie Yehdego Mered, videos and images of organ harvesting and cannibalism were found on the mobile phone of the 35-year-old Eritrean.
Former migrant smuggler Nuredin Wehabrebi Atta said that migrants who were not able to pay people smugglers’ fees were often systematically killed and had their organs harvested to be sold on the black market.
Whilst most of the migrants coming into Italy are men, the women who are promised jobs by the people traffickers are often forced into sexual slavery once they reach Europe. Reports claim that around 80 per cent of Nigerian women who come to Italy are forced into prostitution and make up almost half of all the prostitutes in the country.