Libya denied allegations from human rights groups today that it was mistreating a group of Eritrean migrants who had been turned back at sea by Italian patrols and handed over to Libya, according to Reuters. Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg has said he had information the migrants were subjected to violence by Libyan police, leaving several of them seriously injured. Libya says there are 400 refugees in total. Of them, 245 have been turned back by Italian patrols and handed over to Libya -- a case that has caused a political row in Italy. "There are about 400 illegal migrants from Eritrea being held in detention centres in Libya and they are treated as temporary guests," Libya's official Jana news agency quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying. "Libyan authorities have opened the detention centres to humanitarian and human rights bodies and diplomatic representatives to witness the conditions and treatment of the migrants," the agency said. "This is in itself a dismissal of these allegations of mistreatment." Libya's authorities say they are doing their best to cope with the flow of migrants and allege that European governments have unfairly burdened them with the responsibility of policing the EU's southern border. Libya says it has cut sharply the numbers of migrants trying to reach Europe since reaching a deal with Italy early last year. Under the deal, illegal migrants caught by Italian authorities are returned to Libya before being sent back to their home countries.
