Bystanders watch President Barack Obama as he tours L’Aquila with Prime Minister Berlusconi after arriving to attend the G-8 summit in Italy, July 8, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) This official White House photograph is being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way or used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
Italy has arrested 13 Somalis accused of being part of a network which held migrants hostage on their arrival in Sicily to extort money for the trip to northern Europe.
An eight-month investigation in Catania, in the island’s south, uncovered a “criminal organization” which scanned reception centers for Somalis who had recently been picked up at sea while crossing from North Africa, police said Wednesday in a statement.
The migrants, many of whom are likely to have faced similar extortion in crisis-torn Libya before attempting the perilous crossing, were held in apartments until relatives or friends abroad paid for their liberation and the rest of their journey in Italy or across Europe.
Police intervened several times during the probe to free those being held in Catania or the surrounding area, including minors.
According to the UN’s refugee agency Somalis account for nine percent of the 31,000 migrants who have landed in Italy so far this year.
Like Eritrean and Sudanese migrants, they rarely file for asylum in Italy and the majority hope to reach northern Europe.
