(ANSA) – ROME, JAN 26 – Magistrates’ union ANM hit back on Sunday at Premier Giorgia Meloni over the case of Najeem Osema Almasri Habish after she stressed on Saturday that the Libyan police chief wanted by International Criminal Court (ICC) was released from detention in Italy by the courts, not by the government.
Almasri is the director of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention centre and he was detained in Turin last weekend on ICC warrant regarding the alleged brutal treatment of migrants.
The Rome court of appeal ordered his release on Tuesday due to a procedural issue regarding the lack of involvement of Justice Minister Carlo Nordio.
Almasri was flown back to Tripoli on a State flight and landed among jubilant supporters.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told the Senate Thursday that he was expelled from Italy because he is a dangerous man.
The ICC said it has asked Italy, which has an agreement with Libya to provide aid for its coast guard in exchange for cooperation on combatting illegal migration crossings, to explain the release.
On Sunday the ANM said the government had had a hand in Almasri’s release via Nordio’s “inertia”.
“Libyan General Almasri was freed on 21 January due to the the inertia of the Minister of Justice who could have – because he was informed by the judicial police on 19 January and by the Court of Appeal in Rome on 20 January – and should have, out of respect for international obligations, asked for his remand in custody with a view to his surrender to the International Criminal Court which had issued an arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Mitiga prison in Libya,” the ANM said.
In addition to saying the decision on Almasri was made by a judge, Meloni said Saturday that she would ask the ICC to explain why he wasn’t detained elsewhere as he had been in other European countries before arriving in Italy (ANSA).
Read article…
Almasri is the director of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention centre and he was detained in Turin last weekend on ICC warrant regarding the alleged brutal treatment of migrants.
The Rome court of appeal ordered his release on Tuesday due to a procedural issue regarding the lack of involvement of Justice Minister Carlo Nordio.
Almasri was flown back to Tripoli on a State flight and landed among jubilant supporters.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told the Senate Thursday that he was expelled from Italy because he is a dangerous man.
The ICC said it has asked Italy, which has an agreement with Libya to provide aid for its coast guard in exchange for cooperation on combatting illegal migration crossings, to explain the release.
On Sunday the ANM said the government had had a hand in Almasri’s release via Nordio’s “inertia”.
“Libyan General Almasri was freed on 21 January due to the the inertia of the Minister of Justice who could have – because he was informed by the judicial police on 19 January and by the Court of Appeal in Rome on 20 January – and should have, out of respect for international obligations, asked for his remand in custody with a view to his surrender to the International Criminal Court which had issued an arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Mitiga prison in Libya,” the ANM said.
In addition to saying the decision on Almasri was made by a judge, Meloni said Saturday that she would ask the ICC to explain why he wasn’t detained elsewhere as he had been in other European countries before arriving in Italy (ANSA).
Read article…
