Gambian migrants in Libya are facing daily abuses and appalling conditions in Libyan prisons and detention centers, according to information reaching What's On-Gambia.

One of the migrants, who begged for anonymity disclosed: "A few months ago, I left The Gambia to embark on the back way journey. On September 12, we got arrested by Libyans while trying to reach Europe. They fired numerous gunshots at us before finally arresting us."

He continued: "We were beaten mercilessly and transported to a port in Az-Zāwiyah, where an Arab guy wearing a UN cap interrogated us. He also took photos of us."

The young migrant further revealed they were later moved to a prison dubbed "Osama".

"We were stripped naked, manhandled and humiliated by them. They forcefully took all our money and mobile phones. The prison had hundreds of young Africans from The Gambia, Sudan, Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia and other countries," he said.

According to him, some Gambians were killed and buried within the prison grounds in Az-Zāwiyah.

"After spending over a month in this prison, my family paid a D25,000 ransom (2,500 dinars) and I got released leaving behind more than fifty young Gambians. Two days after I got released, I heard my friends were transferred to another prison within Az-Zāwiyah. This is an underground prison located in the desert, where once you enter you no longer have contact with your family.

"The only way out from this prison is to escape and those captured during the escape are shot and killed. Many young Gambians are locked up in this prison while their families are made to believe they died in the sea."

The young migrant revealed he is a high school graduate who wanted to study Law at the University of The Gambia, but his parents' inability to pay the tuition fees forced him to take the back way to Europe.