According to Avvenire, the investigation, linked Milad and al-Khuni to three torturers which had been arrested in Sicily and sentenced to 20 years in prison each. Officers in Lampedusa had separately interrogated some migrants who arrived to Italy through the Libyan city of Zawiyah, where Milad and his associates operate. According to Avvenire, Milad was introduced at the meetings as “a commander of the Libyan coastguard”. Minniti has denied any wrongdoing, saying Italy was unaware of the allegations of criminal activity against Milad at the time. “His authority over the Zawiyah refinery makes him a key figure in the lucrative fuel smuggling network in western Libya,” the UN report stated.
