A court in Zwolle began nine days of hearings on Monday in the case of an Eritrean man accused of running a migrant smuggling operation.

Prosecutors say Amanuel W, better known as Tewelde Goitom, extorted the relatives of migrants trapped in camps in Libya en route to Europe from East Africa.

The defendant was extradited from Ethiopia in 2022, after being convicted there on human smuggling charges and sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Amanuel W claims it is a case of mistaken identity and his lawyers argued the Netherlands does not have jurisdiction in the case. “There is no connection to the Netherlands,” defense lawyer Simcha Plas said.

Prosecutors argued that because family members who paid the money to get their relatives released were located in the Netherlands, the Dutch do have an interest in the case.

Earlier this year, the Dutch national rapporteur on human trafficking, examined 124 witness statements in connection with the investigation.

According to the reports, the asylum seekers were locked up in cramped warehouses, given insufficient food and water, and there were no sanitation facilities.

They were also forced to call their family members to arrange for additional money to be sent and faced physical and verbal abuse.

Another suspect in the case will be extradited from the UAE to face charges in the Netherlands.