A Dutch court convicted an Eritrean man of people smuggling and extortion on Tuesday 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 leading a criminal organisation that mistreated migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe and extorted money from their families in the Netherlands to pay for the risky voyages.
