Libyan court jails 38 people over deaths of 11 migrants

The office of Libya’s chief prosecutor said that five people were sentenced to life in prison after they were convicted of human trafficking over the deaths of 11 migrants and refugees who were on a dilapidated boat trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

The office of General Prosecutor al-Sediq al-Sourr said in a statement that the court in the city of Bayda also sentenced nine other defendants to 15 years in prison each on Monday, adding that, another 24 suspects were jailed for a year.

In recent years, Libya has become a major transit point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa to seek a better life in Europe.