According to prosecutors, 42-year-old Goitom operated a migration route to Europe via Libya with his organisation between 2014 and 2019, detaining thousands of African migrants in warehouses and torturing them to extort ransoms from their families.
Goitom, who was extradited to the Netherlands in 2022, told judges that they had the wrong man and invoked his right to remain silent. The trial is the largest human trafficking case ever in the Netherlands and one of the few in Europe examining criminal networks moving migrants through Libya.
Harrowing accounts by victims
Libya became a major transit route to Europe following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi, with migrants fleeing conflict and poverty often subjected to inhumane conditions.
Several victims testified this week, describing being held in overcrowded warehouses with minimal food, water, and medical care. One, identified only as E., said he was beaten with a water hose by Goitom and witnessed fellow detainees die.
When finally placed on a boat to Europe, E. said the vessel was rickety and engine-less, forcing passengers to sing hymns as they feared they would not survive.
“I want peace of mind, I want to ask Walid if they did eventually bury my friend who died in the warehouse,” he said in his victim statement.
The defence is scheduled to present closing arguments on Monday, with a ruling expected in January, though the date may change, a prosecutor’s spokesperson said. Goitom’s lawyers have argued the charges should be dismissed due to a lack of a clear Dutch connection.
Under Dutch universal jurisdiction, courts can try foreign nationals for crimes committed abroad if victims are present in the Netherlands.