Thousands of men, women, and children fleeing for their safety are being rounded up and thrown in appalling detention centers notorious for forced labor, human trafficking, torture, and even rape. 
And it’s all thanks to the E.U. and the Italian government. Both have poured money into supporting the Libyan Coast Guard and blocked NGOs from operating rescue missions,[1] while reports of groups of migrants drowning continue.[2] The Coast Guard’s rescues from the Mediterranean Sea look more like interceptions, with African refugees disappearing,[3] or being returned to Libya, where they face arbitrary, indefinite detention. It’s a strategy designed to keep African refugees and migrants out of Europe, and one that turns a blind eye to how the E.U. and Italy are spending millions of euros to fuel human rights abuses in Libya.It’s high time for them to cut funding for the Libyan Coast Guard.