CAIRO (AP) – At least 22 Syrian migrants detained for over five months in Libya began a hunger strike yesterday to demand their release, a Libyan rights group said.
The group of migrants included three minors and have been held in a prison in the western town of Zawiya in appalling conditions, the group Belaady said. They were detained in October in the town of Ajaylat, which is some 80 kilometres west of the capital of Tripoli, said activist Tarik Lamloum.
The migrants arrived in Libya last year on a flight by private Syrian airline Cham Wings which operates routes to eastern Libya, Lamloum said.
They then moved to western Libyan where they were detained as part of a crackdown on migrants. A court in Ajaylat ordered their deportation after paying a fine USD125 each, according to a document obtained by the AP.
