Rome / Arish, November 17, 2011 - The UNHCR has confirmed that 611 Eritrean refugees were released without ransom by the traffickers in Northern Sinai, and are currently in Israel. EveryOne Group has also learned of the violent death of the notorious trafficker in migrants and human organs, Soliman Abdalah Necklawi, known as "The Sultan".

 

The smuggler was killed, according to the information we received, in a shoot-out with some Bedouins of another tribe, who were attempting to free a group of Eritrean refugees. The prisoners were freed and subsequently, according to reliable sources, headed for Israel. However, we know of at least 450 Eritrean migrants who have not yet been released by these gangs.

 

58 of these hostages are located in Serah and are in the hands of the thief  known as Samih, whose family is deeply involved in the trafficking of human beings and organs. Another group of prisoners is in an unidentified location in Northern Sinai. We have sent the mobile phone number of one of the young prisoners to the High Commissioner for Refugees and the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings. Currently there is a strong component of the Bedouin tribes who are keen to work with the authorities and NGOs to end the odious trafficking in human beings and refugees in Northern Sinai.

 

In the coming days a delegation from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which upheld the complaint lodged by the network of NGOs against trafficking in human beings in the Sinai (a network that includes EveryOne Group) will meet - in the course of investigations about the crimes committed by the traffickers - the Egyptian human rights defender Hamdy al-Azazy, the director of the New Generation Foundation for Human Rights and a close associate of EveryOne Group. We must point out that the top traffickers that we reported to the international authorities are still active in their criminal affairs: their names are Samih, Abu Khaled, Abu Ahmed, Abu Abdallah, Abu Moussa, Kemal, and Abu Mohammed.