A Dutch court convicted an Eritrean man Tuesday of people smuggling and extortion and sentenced him to the maximum 20 years imprisonment, saying that he and his accomplices subjected migrants to “cruel, violent, and degrading treatment.”
Tewelde Goitom, also known as Amanuel Walid, was found guilty by the Overijssel District Court of mistreating migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe and extorting money from their families in the Netherlands to pay for the risky voyages.
