AMSTERDAM: An Eritrean man alleged to be a people-smuggling kingpin was extradited Wednesday to the Netherlands by the UAE, paving the way for trial in a Dutch court.
The 41-year-old Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam had been on an international wanted list since 2021 after fleeing while on trial in Ethiopia, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service said in a statement. He was flown to Amsterdam accompanied by Dutch military police.
He is wanted in the Netherlands for crimes including participating in a criminal organization involved in migrant-smuggling, hostage-taking, extortion and violence, including sexual violence.
His case is linked to that of another Eritrean man, Tewelde Goitom, whose trial opened in a Dutch court last month. Prosecutors have sought a 20-year sentence.
Goitom’s defense lawyers want to interview Habtemariam as a witness in their client’s case. It is one of the largest human-smuggling cases ever brought in the Netherlands, prosecutors said.
