A spokesperson for Refugees in Libya,
an organization representing refugees, asylum seekers, and
migrants set up in Italy last year, said Libyan police chief
Njeem Osama Almasri Habish who was arrested by Italian
authorities at the weekend on a warrant issued by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) and later released and flown
back to Libya, headed Tripoli's infamous Mitiga detention
centre where migrants, including children, were tortured and
forced to fight.
The International Criminal Court has urged Italy to provide
clarifications on the release of the man, who is back in Libya.
The spokesperson, David Yambio, told online newspaper Fanpage.it
on Thursday that, while he was detained at the Mitiga centre, he
saw "men being burned and electrocuted, as well as beaten with
weapons".
"Many were forced to fight.
"Between 2019 and 2020, I also saw children who passed through
the centre being forced to fight in Libya's civil war.
"I remember Almasri well, he was the chief, he was a torturer
himself, he was there to order murders, to shoot, to reduce
[inmates] to slavery.
"His role was clear, he headed Mitiga, as well as the centre of
Jaded and other facilities", Yambio told the online newspaper.
Another witness who was detained in Libyan prisons told the
third channel of State broadcaster RAI on Wednesday that Almasri
was in charge of the Tripoli branch of the Reform and
Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention
centres run by the government-backed Special Defence Force.
"I know him because I was in the prison in Zawiya.
"He is the head of the prison in Mitiga, as well as in Zawiya.
"In Zawiya he is in charge of a prison," the witness added in
the interview.
"He takes migrants from the sea and brings them to the prison.
"Then they must pay to get out.
"He is a trafficker.
"Everyone knows him, all the migrants in Libya", the witness
also told Italian State television.
Meanwhile, speaking about Almasri's release, Yambio told
Fanpage: "What should I think about a government that says it is
fighting human traffickers and then shakes hands with the
architect of human trafficking?
"Can the Italian government say that it is defending law and
order when it so willingly defends a war criminal?".
Meanwhile on Thursday opposition members continued to slam the
government forreleasing Almasri with the Green-Left Alliance
(AVS) demanding the resignation of Justice Minister Carlo Nordio
after the Libyan's detention was quashed on a technicality.
"Almasri is accused of crimes against humanity, murder, torture
rape", said Maria Chiara Gadda, the deputy whip of the centrist
Italia Viva (IV) party led by ex-premier Matteo Renzi.
"His release is not a mistake, it is a choice that clarifies how
migrant management is surrendered to third parties - certainly
no Mattei Plan", she added, referring to the government's
ambitious plan which seeks to create a new partnership with
African countries to address the root causes of irregular
migration and turn Italy into a sort of hub for energy supplies
in Europe.
AVS lawmakers led by leaders Angelo Bonelli and Nicola
Fratoianni also staged a demonstration in front of the premier's
office, Palazzo Chigi.
"We are waiting for Nordio's resignation, he lied to the
country", said Bonelli.
The procedural errors, he added, "are only an alibi to allow a
human trafficker, a torturer to be released and even accompanied
on a State flight" of the Italian secret services, he added.
A Rome court of appeal ordered Almasri's release due to a
procedural issue regarding the failure to consult the justice
minister before making the arrest.
And Elly Schlein, the leader of the largest member of member of
the opposition, the Democratic Party (PD), urged Premier Giorgia
Meloni to report to parliament on the case, a day after
centre-left parties had jointly requested her to address
lawmakers.
"Giorgia Meloni must come and report to the House because it
isn't possible that Palazzo Chigi wasn't directly involved in
this terrible case", Schlein told reporters at the House.
"She should stop hiding behind her ministers and take
responsibility by coming and clarifying what happened and why,
after declaring war on human traffickers, she allowed one to be
released in Italy and sent directly back to Libya on an Italian
plane", noted the PD leader.
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