Trial begins for Eritrean man accused of leading brutal migrant smuggling network

A Dutch court opened a trial Monday of an Eritrean man accused of involvement in a brutal migrant smuggling network.

Prosecutors say Tewelde Goitom, also known as Amanuel Walid, ran an operation bringing East African migrants to Europe under horrific conditions, demanding huge sums of money from their relatives to free them from camps in Libya.

The accused, wearing jeans and a blue puffer jacket, said that he is the victim of mistaken…