The 158 Bangladeshi nationals landed in Dhaka in the early hours of Tuesday (June 17) morning on a flight from Libya’s capital Tripoli, via Muscat in Oman.

According to a trustworthy Bangladeshi daily news site in English, Bangladesh Pratidin, the migrants had been stranded in Libya and were returned home with the help of the Bangladeshi embassy in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UN Migration Agency, IOM.

The group landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a Buraq Air flight. The Bangladeshi embassy told InfoMigrants Bengali that the returnees had been held at the Tajoura Detention Center in Tripoli before their repatriation.

The embassy told Bangladesh Pratitdin that "tireless efforts of the Bangladeshi mission in Libya enabled the return of these detained citizens."

The English language Libyan Observer newspaper also reported the return, but they said that the Bangladeshi migrants had been "deported from Libya on Monday for violating entry and residence regulations."

Read AlsoThe stories Bangladeshi migrants told on a rescue ship in the Mediterranean

Voluntary returns from Libya

A few days ago, IOM Libya said on the social media platform that it had helped to safely return home 100,000 migrants from Libya since 2015 through its voluntary return program. The program is primarily funded by the EU, stated the IOM, "with additional support from the governments of Italy, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway."

The IOM said in a press release on June 12, that it had helped "tens of thousands of migrants" to return "safely and voluntarily to 49 countries of origin across Africa and Asia, including Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Bangladesh and the Gambia."

Of those assisted, the IOM said "nearly 73,000 were men, close to 17,000 women and over 10,000 children –some of whom were unaccompanied." They said these facts reflected the "diversity and vulnerability of Libya’s migrant population."

The IOM admitted that Libya was a "context where protection risks remain high and regular pathways are limited." IOM Libya’s Chief of Mission, Nicoletta Giordano, said that she believed voluntary return "offers a crucial, life-saving option for those who wish to return home."

Giordano added that the IOM continues to "provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable populations, we are also working to support more sustainable, long-term solutions."

The IOM says it offers a "comprehensive package of pre-departure and post-return assistance, including protection services, health screenings, mental health and psychosocial support, travel document facilitation and reintegration assistance." They have given information about it in a video posted to YouTube:

The UN agency added that it ensures that "every return is voluntary and based on informed consent, even when migrants are faced with constrained options."

Read AlsoVoluntary returns: when asylum seekers want to go home

Detention in Libya

However, numerous reports highlight the fact that many migrants in Libya, either trying to work there, or make money there to fund a passage to Europe, are subject to arbitrary kidnappings and detention for the purposes of extortion. Many of the migrants intercepted and returned to Libya report being detained either by the Libyan authorities or militias, sometimes affiliated with them, and sometimes acting independently as criminal organizations.

In the week between June 8 and June 14, IOM Libya confirmed in its weekly updates on the subject that 635 migrants had been intercepted and returned to Libya. So far in 2025, stated the agency in a post on X, 10,634 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya. Many of them end up in some kind of detention center.

It is not clear if this was the fate of the Bangladeshi nationals who have just been returned to Bangladesh.

Read AlsoMigrants trapped in Libya: 'I'm determined to try again'

Second flight due to leave on June 18

The Bangladeshi embassy in Libya told InfoMigrants Bengali that a further flight is scheduled for June 18 to repatriate more Bangladeshi citizens stranded in Libya. They did not yet specify how many Bangladeshis might be on board this flight. However, a spokesperson told InfoMigrants Bengali:

"All the Bangladeshis who will return on that flight live in Tripoli. Many of them have faced various dangers while working in Libya. Some have lost their jobs, some have been cheated. Now they do not even have the money to pay for the airfare to return home."

The Bangladeshi embassy has told all those scheduled for this flight to complete a physical examination and hand over their luggage by today (June 17). The embassy warned that anyone failing to hand in their luggage or complete a physical examination may face complications if trying to avail themselves of an IOM voluntary repatriation flight in the future.

The embassy said that so far they had 161 names on the list for the June 18 flight, but they said the actual numbers could be a little higher or a little lower.

In the last two years, the embassy said that nearly 5,500 Bangladeshis have been repatriated from Libya. Between 2017 and mid-March this year, the Bangladeshi embassy told InfoMigrants Bengali that 9,183 Bangladeshi citizens had been repatriated from Libya. All these repatriations were carried out with the support of IOM.

 With additional reporting and research by Tanjir Mehedi, InfoMigrants Bengali