Germans take up Sinai trafficking

Germany's parliament has taken on debating human trafficking in Sinai in part due to CNN reporting from the region.

German MP Annette Groth says it is time for Berlin to use its economic power to pressure Egyptian authorities.

Human rights groups estimate that thousands of African migrants have perished trying to make it to Israel via the Sinai.

In two documentaries over two years CNN's Fred Pleitgen visited the Sinai to expose the traffickers and grim evidence of organ harvesting.

'Death in The Desert' - which was first published online in November 2011 and broadcast on CNN International on November 5, showed evidence that African refugees, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, were being held captive by Bedouin human traffickers in Sinai, who try to extort massive sums of money from the refugees’ families for their release.

Shortly after the documentary aired, hundreds of African refugees were released from captivity in the Sinai Peninsula and allowed to cross from Egypt into Israel.

In 2012 'Stand in the Sinai' showed how different groups - including Bedouins, aid workers and former refugees - were fighting the traffickers.