Dutch prosecutors place Eritrean on most wanted list

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch authorities have placed an Eritrean on the Netherlands’ most-wanted list as they seek to prosecute him for his alleged involvement in large-scale human trafficking, abuse of migrants trying to reach Europe and extortion. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service charges that Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam leads a criminal organization that targets Eritrean migrants trying to make the risky Mediterranean Sea crossing from Libya. The most-wanted notice published Tuesday calls the 37-year-old “one of the world’s most notorious and cruelest people smugglers.” It says he is head of a camp in Libya that houses thousands of migrants. Habtemariam’s whereabouts are unknown. Dutch prosecutors say he escaped from custody in Ethiopia while on trial there last year on people smuggling charges.