LONDON: The UK government was wrong when it failed to consider whether a Syrian asylum seeker held for ransom in Libya had been “exploited” under human trafficking laws, a court has ruled.The Court of Appeal decision means that refugees who have been held hostage for money on their way to the UK may be eligible for the support and recovery package that trafficking victims are entitled to, The Guardian reported.The case was brought by an unnamed Syrian national who fled his country in 2021 to avoid being conscripted into the military, which was embroiled in a brutal civil war under President Bashar Assad.According to court documents, he traveled to Libya where he and other Syrian refugees were abducted by armed men, taken to a prison, beaten, and told they would not be released unless their captors received $7,000. The Syrian man was forced to phone his family to request the money while the other captives were beaten in the background so that their screams could be heard. The captors also told his family he would be killed if they refused to pay up.He was released four weeks later but only after his family had paid a ransom believed to be about $1,500. The man made his way to Europe before crossing to the UK on a small boat in May 2022, where he was detained as an illegal immigrant and claimed asylum over his fear of persecution by the Syrian authorities.His case was referred to the UK Home Office’s National Referral Mechanism, which aims to identify victims of slavery and trafficking.But officials decided that because he had not been required to work for his captors in Libya, he had not been exploited and therefore was not a victim of slavery or trafficking. He pursued a judicial review of the decision, which went in his favor. However, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood appealed the ruling. Her arguments were rejected by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday. The ruling, agreed by three judges, said the home secretary had “erred in this case by not considering the question of whether the kidnapping amounted to exploitation.” Jeremy Bloom, a consultant solicitor at Duncan Lewis, who represented the Syrian man, told The Guardian: “This judgment is a vindication of my client’s claim to be a victim of trafficking. The Home Office sought to restrict the definition of exploitation.”A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are simplifying and strengthening protection and immigration routes, ensuring they are clear, targeted and focused on their intended purpose, while maintaining fairness and public confidence.” Libya has become a major departure point for migrants and refugees traveling from the Middle East and Africa to Europe.A UN Human Rights Office report in February said refugees traveling through the country are subjected to “ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking.”