Georgia Maloney’s government is under pressure to explain why a Rome court refused to authorize the arrest of a Libyan general on war crimes charges, giving him a hero’s welcome on a flight from the Italian secret service. allowed to return home, which critics believe was a ruse to save him. A migrant deal with Italy has resulted in alleged abuses in the North African country.
Osama Najim, also known as Al-Masri, was detained in Turin on Sunday on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), before a procedural technicality. was released on Tuesday.
Najim, who heads Libya’s judicial police, is wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as alleged rape and murder. He also presides over Matega prison, a facility near Tripoli that human rights organizations have condemned for the arbitrary detention, torture and abuse of political dissidents, migrants and refugees.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ICC said Najeem was released from custody and returned to Libya “without prior notification or consultation with the court”.
“The court is seeking, and has yet to receive, confirmation from the authorities on the steps allegedly taken,” the statement said, adding that it had held discussions with Italian authorities. And they have been asked to approach the court without delay if any problem arises. “will hinder or prevent the execution of the present request for cooperation”.
An arrest warrant was issued after he provided the ICC with several testimonies of his alleged crimes.
News of the general’s release was released to Italian media about 20 minutes after his flight took off from Turin’s Kassel airport. A photo of them arriving in Tripoli to celebrate was shared on the Libyan Judicial Police Authority’s Facebook page, calling their arrest a “provocative incident”.
In a document seen by the Guardian, Rome’s appeals court did not confirm the ICC’s warrant after the city’s attorney general called it “irregular” because Italy’s Justice Minister Carlo There was no communication with Nordeo.
Justice Ministry Undersecretary Andrea Delmastro denied allegations that Najim’s release was in favor of Libya.
A source familiar with the situation said Najeem entered Italy from France in a rental car registered in Germany on Saturday. Along with other Libyans, he attended the evening football match between Juventus and AC Milan at the stadium in Turin. He was arrested from a hotel in the city by Italy’s anti-terrorist force Digos following a tip-off from Interpol.
Opposition parties have called on Maloney to urgently explain the “very serious” development while calling for Nordeau’s resignation.
“Last night, a government plane landed in Tripoli and brought al-Masri home, one [alleged] “The torturer was welcomed in his homeland with applause and great celebration,” a group of opposition parties said in a joint statement. “This is enough to demand the immediate resignation of Maloney and Nordeau.”
Italian MEP Ilaria Salles, who spent five months under house arrest in Budapest last year after demonstrating at an anti-Nazi rally in the Hungarian capital, said: “The government must provide an explanation, and they must. Especially for the detention camps in Libya.”
Others noted that the move defies the Maloney government’s repeated promises to crack down on criminals involved in human trafficking.
“The Italian government claims it wants to hunt down human traffickers wherever they are,” said Nilo Scavo, a journalist with Avvenire who claimed in his book, Le Mani Sola Guardia Costerathat Najeem was among the personalities capable of blackmailing Italy and Europe through boats.
“But when it became possible to bring one of these suspects to international justice, Italy returned him to his country, where he now has more fame and more attention because, thanks to Italy, in Libya A country with strong interests, he managed to escape the process of the International Court of Justice.
The Najim case highlights a controversial agreement between Italy and Libya signed in 2017 and renewed every three years. The deal, approved by the European Council, includes Italy funding and equipping Libya’s coast guard to intercept migrant boats leaving the North African country. Humanitarian groups have criticized it for pushing people back into concentration camps where they face torture and other abuses.
Luca Cassarini, head of mission at the non-governmental organization Mediterranea Saving Humans, believes the Italian government did not want to hand Najim over to the ICC because of the deal’s implication of Italy’s involvement in abuses against migrants and refugees in Libya. will be exposed.
He said: “Because if people start talking [in court] It will show that what they do is criminal and a violation of human rights, and it is done consensually. [European] Officials This is a shameful, and I believe unprecedented event for Italy.
The Guardian has written to the Libyan Judicial Police Authority with a request for comment.
