A peaceful demonstration will take place on 3 November 2025 from 11:00 in the morning to condemn Eritrean transnational repression and the link to the human trafficking networks that have targeted Eritrean refugees in Libya. Around 150 members of the Eritrean diaspora will gather at the court in Zwolle, where the content hearings against alleged trafficker ‘Walid’ will start.
The protest calls for justice for survivors and an end to transnational repression of Eritreans in the diaspora by the long arm of the Eritrean regime. Eritreans in The Netherlands have fled from severe repression, human rights abuses and the indefinite national service in Eritrea. Yet, the community continues to face coercive demands, reprisals, surveillance and threats against themselves and their families from the Eritrean dictatorship. Eritrean authorities continue to repress and extort money from the Eritrean community in The Netherlands and beyond with impunity. The criminal networks that perpetrate human trafficking for ransom, such as Walid’s, are linked to transnational repression.
The demonstration calls for the protection of Eritreans who are repressed, trafficked and surveilled. It calls for full accountability and comprehensive reparations for survivors of human trafficking who endured detention, torture and extortion, and for measures that ensure victim safety. We also call for an investigation into the links between the criminal networks that perpetrate human trafficking and the Eritrean authorities.
