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
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