SW News: A court in eastern Libya sentenced five people to life in prison after finding them guilty of human trafficking in connection with the deaths of 11 migrants on a boat trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The court in the city of Bayda also sentenced 9 other defendants to 15 years in prison each.

The statement from the office of the General Prosecutor said that 24 others were given one-year prison sentences. It claimed that the accused were part of a network that smuggled migrants from Libya into Europe. The statement did not say when the deadly boat tragedy took place or provide further details.

The court decision was the most recent to target traffickers in the troubled North African country. The chief prosecutor's office reported on Friday that a different Tripoli court had sentenced three defendants for human trafficking, including one to life in prison and two others to 20 years apiece.

Libya has recently developed into a significant crossing route for Middle Eastern and African migrants seeking asylum in Europe and fleeing war and poverty. Following a revolt supported by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2011 that deposed and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi, the oil-rich nation fell into turmoil.

Due to the unrest in Libya, human traffickers have been able to smuggle migrants over borders into six other countries, including Egypt, Algeria, and Sudan. Then they load frightened individuals onto inadequate rubber boats and other craft for the perilous journey across the central Mediterranean.

The horrific conditions that migrants are subjected to while being trafficked and smuggled over the Mediterranean have long been condemned by the United Nations and rights organizations.

Human rights experts with UN support claimed in March that Libyan citizens and migrants had been the victims of crimes against humanity, including the sex slavery of women.