The European Commission denied Tuesday its involvement in crimes against humanity while dealing with migrants in Libya, according to Natasha Bertaud, spokesperson for the commission.
Bertaud said the perpetrators of these crimes are the smugglers who risk the lives of migrants for money.
Migrants from african countries surrounding Libya, including Chad, exploit the lack of security in Libya to cross the Mediterranean, putting their lives in danger either of the risks of the trip or human trafficking.
Under a European migration policy, many migrants have been intercepted in the Mediterranean and taken to detention camps where they were tortured in Libya.
The spokesperson added that the suffering of migrants should be alleviated and their rates of flow across the Mediterranean should be tackled, instead of accusing the European Commission of crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday, a lawsuit filed at the International Criminal court accusing European Union officials of involvement in killing more than 14,000 people and exposing 40,000 others to “crimes against humanity.”
“We leave it to the prosecutor, if he dares, if she dares, to go into the structures of power and to investigate at the heart of Brussels, of Paris, of Berlin and Rome and to see by searching in the archives of the meetings of the negotiations who was really behind the scenes trying to push for these policies that triggered the death of more than 14,000 people,” said Juan Branco, a lawyer who co-wrote the report and shared it with The Associated Press.
