People-smuggling 'kingpin' Mered Medhanie extradited to Italy

[Bad Dog]

Source: BBC

An Eritrean man believed to be at the heart of the operation to smuggle migrants from Africa to Europe has been extradited to Italy, prosecutors say.

Mered Medhanie, known as The General, was held in Sudan in May and was flown to Rome on Tuesday.

Britain's National Crime Agency said he is thought to have arranged the transit of a boat that sank near the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013.

At least 359 migrants died when the boat, travelling from Libya, capsized.

Most were from Eritrea and Somalia.


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36476147

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It's about time some of those grown fat on human misery see justice.

[MADem]

1. And Italian justice is often hellish. One day you're up, next day you're down.

Ask Amanda Knox....

[JustAnotherGen]

3. It cannot just be Italy's problem

They are just the landing place. But in this case -- the smuggler is laughing at the pain these people are in. If you engage in this activity - do it from the heart.

"Although he was operating thousands of miles away, his criminal activity was impacting the UK. Medhanie no doubt thought he was beyond the reach of European justice but we were able to support the Italians by tracking him down to Sudan."

Italy's Corriere Della Serra newspaper reported that Mr Medhanie boasted of being in league with local officials in Tripoli, Libya, while also having a network of workers in Italy.
He charged migrants up to €5,000 (£3,900; $5,680) to travel from African countries to northern Europe, the newspaper said (in Italian).

For a rickety broke down boat?

He counted on them dying.

No leader is perfect - but this Renzi last summer: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/23/mediterranean-migrant-crisis-not-italy-but-europe

The history of humanity has been marked by migration flows, but it is fear that allows shallow demagoguery, and sometimes open racism, increasingly to inhabit Europe’s politics – to the extent that it has been the decisive factor in several recent elections.

But we must respond to fear with political courage.

The country I represent, Italy, has saved countless human lives over the past months. I’d like to pay tribute to the women and men, both military and civilian, who even now are displaying solidarity and courage in keeping our fellow human beings alive. Aboard the ships of our navy and coastguard, three babies have been born in the past six months.

My father in law died in January well into his 80's. He was heavily involved in relief efforts to help these newcomers to Europe. And he stood with the migrants last year who threatened to sink their boat (quite a few children on board) unless Italy let them in.

The media describes these people as cruel - they focus on the Northern League. They shroud calls for help and assistance in PIGS stories. So Renzi pointing out the fall of Libya without a plan for the aftermath of that "deposing" (my word) gets ignored.

The best thing going for this guy is that Europe is watching. In Italy you are guilty until proven innocent. But - I think this trial is going to be a referendum on the world - including our (the U.S.) activities that lead to this mass of people fleeing cruel regimes.

[Bad Dog]

6. There should be a European response.

Unfortunately EU countries are becoming more nationalistic.

[MADem]

11. Will the lawyers try to obscure that referendum of which you speak?

That might be a challenge, for the prosecution to avoid the pitfalls of spin and deflection. I wish some other court were doing the prosecuting, frankly, but I'm glad at least that someone is doing it.

This guy is no Harriet Tubman, and his boats are not the Underground Railroad. This guy is purely a profiteer, a trader in human misery for filthy lucre. I think he needs to answer for his actions.

[Bad Dog]

5. I'm more concerned about the family of Meredith Kercher than that individual.

She should never have been released.

[MADem]

8. She was released because she didn't do it. nt

[Bad Dog]

9. She was released because the Americans put pressure on the Italians.

If Knox had been British and Kercher American she'd still be locked up.

[MADem]

12. Doubtful. The tabloids would have spun a different tale. nt

[Bad Dog]

15. It's only Americans who think Knox was innocent.

Every other nationality thinks she's guilty, and that those Americans who support Knox don't value the lives of other nationalities.

[MADem]

16. That was the way the Murdoch press spun it--it was nationalism at its worst.

Which is why I say, if the nationalities were reversed, that Amanda would be seen as a victim of the over-zealous judiciary.

Which she was--they couldn't even PLANT DNA at the crime scene.

Not going to continue to derail this thread, but some theories are just stupid, and the Knox-Murderer one was exactly that.

[Bad Dog]

19. You derailed this thread when you insulted the memory of Meredith Kercher.

By bringing up her murderer. What's stupid is you Americans actually think the rest of the World is daft enough to believe your horsecrap.

[MADem]

22. False accusations won't bring her back, and they know the man who killed her. Have a nice day. nt

[Bad Dog]

23. It's one thing letting the murderer go free.

It's quite another to crow about it. Try to think about the impact you're having on the Kerchers. They're not American, but they are people. Try to get your head around that alien concept.

[Odin2005]

26. Knox's trial was an anti-American witch hunt.

[Bad Dog]

28. Rubbish.

She is guilty, she got off. The Italian judicial system is different from America's. And American justice is nothing to crow about; OJ Simpson and Michael Jackson got off because they were rich and George Zimmerman because he was white.

[Odin2005]

27. An innocent woman should never have been released?

[Bad Dog]

29. She is guilty.

Letting her off because of pressure from America was a travesty. Did you see the way she behaved after the murder, snogging her boyfriend and doing cartwheels? That's not the behaviour of an innocent person shocked at the death of a friend, that's how a psychopath behaves.

[leveymg]

2. The ability to flee death and famine is a basic human right.

Last edited Wed Jun 8, 2016, 10:02 AM - Edit history (1)

Those who turn away refugees are the real criminals. Fuck the National Crime Agency and the rest of the interdictors.

[Bad Dog]

4. Those who profit from the misery of others

by fleecing them and putting them on unsafe boats are criminals. On the radio it said he personally was responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths.

[leveymg]

7. It's like Prohibition. The worst rise to the top when a need or a want becomes a crime.

The activity won't be stopped by jailing a few who cater to the need. It just leads to even worse outcomes, like those unsafe boats and all those drowned people.

[Bad Dog]

10. The problem is.

That what should be done has to contend with the far right pandering to fears about mass immigration and general Islamophobia.

The guy is a criminal.

[leveymg]

13. He may be criminal, but those who pander to the RW and Islomaphobes are worse.

We've entered an era where the US and EU have all but given up on correcting the large problems that generate refugees - ethnic and religious factionalism, poverty, misallocation and scarcity of basic resources and opportunities -- and are now just lashing out at selected "bad guys." For every War Lord we drone or rendition, there are 1000 waiting in line to take his place. We're just creating a succession opportunity.

[Bad Dog]

14. Lots of people have concerns about immigration.

A failure to address that has pushed those people towards extremism. We've got a situation where Britain could very likely leave the EU which will be bad for Britain and bad for the EU, and a godsend to the far right.

[MADem]

17. And lots of these immigrants didn't want to leave their homes and cultures.

There's got to be an answer that falls between "Let 'em die" and "Ship them first class to the furthest corners of the earth."

One answer is refugee camps. But the camps set up thus far are overcrowded and poorly built.

If the community of nations were willing to help the Kingdom of Jordan (and others, if they are interested) to build decent TOWNS--not camps, TOWNS, with real schools,parks and playgrounds, paved roads, running water, electricity, homes-not-tents, shops, restaurants, and maybe some light industry, and transition the existing camps to real, sustainable communities, that might make the upheaval less traumatic.

It's going to take MONEY, though--lots of it. Everyone promises, and no one delivers. At least not enough.

UK won't leave the EU. They'll just keep their pounds and their separate-but-equal POV. But they won't totally leave, I don't think. All those cheap goods coming through the chunnel have spoiled the population. The prices are still high compared to other places in the world, but they're a complete bargain compared to what they cost Pre-Chunnel.

[leveymg]

18. Another thing the US and EU have given up on is controlling our RW extremism problems. Now we pander

to the xenophobes, hysterical nationalists, and bigots.

Instead of trying to cut the flow of refugees, we should be cutting off the massive cross-border flows of money and arms that keeps persecuting groups in business. To do that, we have to be willing to offend "allies" and trading partners, seize assets, and if necessary arrest the wealthiest people in the world who continue to fund groups like ISIS.

[Bad Dog]

20. I think we came to a similar conclusion of a thread about Saudi Arabia

Hard to do that with a right wing government in charge and politicians who put their own financial gain first. Look how well Cheney did out of Iraq. That should be illegal.

[Bad Dog]

21. It's not just the extremists, it's those whose opinions are archaic.

Bigotgate was a prime example of the Labour Party looking out of touch and unconcerned with what worried most of their supporters, and the right wing will seize any opportunity.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/apr/28/gordon-brown-bigoted-woman

[Bad Dog]

24. The latest.

Friends of a man extradited to Italy on Tuesday on people smuggling charges say police have the wrong man.

Prosecutors believe Mered Medhanie, known as The General, is at the heart of the operation to smuggle migrants from Africa to Europe.

An Eritrean man authorities say is Mr Mered was held in Sudan in May and flown to Rome on Tuesday.

But the man's friends told the BBC there had been a case of mistaken identity and he was innocent

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36486010

[Eugene]

25. Europe migrant crisis: Doubt cast on identity of 'smuggler' extradited to Italy

Source: BBC


[font size=1]Left: An image of the man believed to be Mered Medhanie previously released by the UK National Crime Agency; Right: the man extradited to Italy[/font]

Europe migrant crisis: Doubt cast on identity of 'smuggler' extradited to Italy

9 June 2016 Europe

Italian prosecutors are investigating whether the wrong man was extradited to Italy this week in a high-profile operation against people-smuggling.

A man thought to be suspected Eritrean people smuggler Mered Medhanie, 35, was seized in Sudan last month.

Two women said to be sisters of another Eritrean man, Medhanie Tesfarmariam Berhe, 27, say he was arrested instead.

One of them told the BBC of her shock at suddenly seeing photos of her missing brother in custody in Italy.

Italy announced the extradition on Wednesday, releasing video of a man in handcuffs being escorted off a plane.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36488655

______________________________________________________________________

Source: The Guardian

Police investigating if wrong man caught in anti-smuggling operation

Man sent to Italy is refugee Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe, not
smuggler Medhanie Yehdego Mered, detainee’s friends say

Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and Patrick Kingsley
Thursday 9 June 2016 08.29 BST

Italian and British police are urgently investigating whether they caught the wrong person in a much-hyped anti-smuggling operation said to have netted one of the world’s most-wanted people smugglers.

Investigators in both countries announced with great fanfare on Wednesday morning that they had seized Medhanie Yehdego Mered, a 35-year-old Eritrean whom an Italian prosecutor called “the boss of one of the most important criminal groups operating in central Africa and Libya”.

Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA), which was involved in the investigation, hailed the capture of “one of the world’s most-wanted people smugglers”, following his extradition on Wednesday to Italy from Sudan, where he had been arrested.

But just hours later both Italy and Britain were looking into whether the Sudanese had sent them the wrong man, after three close friends of the detainee alleged to the Guardian that he was the victim of mistaken identity.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/08/police-investigating-if-wrong-man-caught-in-anti-smuggling-operation

[Eugene]

30. Smuggler's victims say police have arrested innocent refugee

Source: The Guardian

Smuggler's victims say police have arrested innocent refugee

Italian and British authorities under increasing pressure over claims
they have caught notorious Eritrean people smuggler

Lorenzo Tondo in Palermo and Patrick Kingsley
Thursday 9 June 2016 19.27 BST

Italian and British police face mounting accusations that they confused a notorious people smuggler with an innocent refugee, after some of the smuggler’s former victims said they did not recognise the suspect extradited to Rome and paraded before the media.

The accusations followed claims from the family, housemates and neighbours of Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe that the 29-year-old had been mistaken for Medhanie Yehdego Mered, a 35-year-old smuggling kingpin supposedly deported from Sudan on Wednesday. Berhe, they say, was in fact a jobless refugee with no involvement in the smuggling business.

The accusations create huge potential embarrassment for both the Italian authorities, who previously claimed to have seized “the boss of one of the most important criminal groups operating in central Africa and Libya”, and Britain’s National Crime Agency, which was involved in the Mered investigationand hailed the capture of “one of the world’s most wanted people smugglers”.

Mered is a a well-known Eritrean people smuggler, based in Sudan and Libya, who has boasted of sending at least 13,000 people from Khartoum to Europe, via Libya and the Mediterranean Sea. Italy said he had been seized in Khartoum in late May and subsequently deported to Rome.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/09/smugglers-victims-say-police-have-arrested-innocent-refugee