Tripoli // When young Moroccan Rachid paid $1,500 (Dh5,500) to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, he never thought he would end up instead in a Libyan detention centre.
Just before the 25-year-old was set to leave Libya, local authorities carried out a raid in Garabulli, about 60 kilometres from Tripoli, detaining two smugglers and some 100 migrants including him.
They were driven to a detention centre in the Libyan capital without any money, or their telephones or passports, which were confiscated by the smugglers.
Rachid had hoped for a bright future in Europe, but instead he joined thousands of other migrants detained in a country wracked by chaos since the fall of Muammar Qaddafi in its 2011 revolution.
Libya has for years been a stepping stone for migrants seeking to reach Europe, but smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business as two rival administrations and militias battle for control of the oil-rich country.
European and African nations are to meet from Wednesday in Malta to tackle the continent’s biggest movement of people since the Second World War.
Dressed in a long grey robe and mismatched blue and green flip-flops, Rachid recounted his story at a detention centre in Tripoli.
After travelling through Tunisia to Libya, smugglers kept him for a week in a house near the capital, where the administration rival to Libya’s internationally recognised government is based.
“I paid them 2,000 Libyan dinars (Dh5,240),” he said. “I slept on the floor with hundreds of other migrants and we had nothing to eat.”
Rachid hesitated before boarding the boat to Europe.
“The smuggler showed us a picture of the boat we were going to get on, and I could see it was really small,” he said.
He asked for his money back but the smuggler refused.
“I was scared of losing it all so I decided to go anyway,” the young Moroccan said.
“But on the night we were supposed to leave, we were detained.”
Ayoub, 30, also Moroccan, was detained at the same time as Rachid.
“Either I will get to Italy where I can live a dignified life, or I’ll die trying,” said the father-of-four. “It’s in God’s hands.”
Some 5,000 people – mostly from Syria, Iraq, Sudan or the Horn of Africa – are detained in and around the Libyan capital.
Captain Osama Mohamad El Shibli is an investigator with the Tripoli administration’s authority in charge of combating illegal migration.
“From their countries in Africa, they head to Sudan then to the Libyan town of Sebha, some 800km from Tripoli, and to the coast,” said the official, whose unit detained Ayoub, Rachid and their companions two weeks ago.
“Along the coast, migrants are gathered in low-key locations before being sent out in groups to the boats.”
The smugglers are often armed and do not hesitate to open fire on security forces, he said.
His colleague Lt Abdelnasser Hazzam said that the traffickers are Libyans and of other African nationalities, who are part of “networks with sophisticated coordination” that make huge sums in this illegal business.
The boats do not leave Libyan shores if they are not overflowing with people, and often carry double or triple the maximum number of allowed passengers on board.
But the authority struggles to carry out its mission with very limited means.
As the Tripoli administration is not recognised by the international community, no country will cooperate with them.
They also have a 24-passenger minibus, which often has to make several trips to carry migrants between raid locations and detention centres.
At sea, the authority fares even worse.
It only has two small speedboats to patrol the waters off Tripoli’s coast and, if needed, rescue migrants at sea or recover their bodies.
“It’s only thanks to God that we save lives,” said Mabruk Salem El Tarhuni, a coastguard at the Tripoli port.
* Agence France-Presse
The Greatest Royal Rumble card
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
