Giorgia Meloni is under investigation for the release and repatriation of the wanted Libyan general Osama Najim — also known as Almasri.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and two of her government ministers are under investigation by Rome prosecutors over the country’s surprise release and repatriation of a Libyan general who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Meloni said on Tuesday that she is suspected of embezzlement and aiding and abetting a crime in connection with the case, along with Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and the Cabinet undersecretary for intelligence matters, Alfredo Mantovano.
Her government has been under fire from the opposition, rights groups and the ICC itself for releasing Osama Najim — also known as Almasri — on a technicality last week after he was arrested in Italy’s northern city of Turin on a warrant from the international court.
Almasri is the chief of Libya’s judicial police and leads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centres run by the government-backed Special Deterrence Forces
The ICC warrant against Almasri accuses him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Libya’s Mitiga prison, starting in 2015, that are punishable with life in prison.
Almasri was arrested on 19 January in his hotel in Turin, where he had attended a football match between Juventus and Milan. He was unexpectedly released and flown home on a state aircraft on 21 January after the arrest was considered to be “irregular” by Rome’s attorney general because Nordio had not been informed ahead of time of the arrest.
Lawyer Luigi Li Gotti initiated legal action last week in which he asked judges in Rome to investigate the decision to release Almasri and to use an official jet to repatriate him.
How the Almasri affair unfolded
Prior to Almasri’s arrest in Turin, he had been in Europe for about 12 days and moved between other European nations including France, Germany and Belgium.
On 16 January, he was stopped in Munich for a routine check and on 18 January, the ICC submitted a request for his arrest to six states, including Italy.
At dawn on 19 January, he was arrested in Turn and spent two nights in Vallette prison.
The arrest of Almasri had been made for the purpose of extradition. Yet under Italian law, an international arrest warrant requires the prior authorisation of the justice ministry. As Nordio had not been notified, the Court of Appeal of Rome did not validate the arrest.
On 21 January, Almasri was released and deported as a ‘dangerous subject’ by decree of Piantedosi. The Libyan citizen took off from Rome and landed in Tripoli on a military plane rather than on a commercial flight, as is used for the repatriation of irregular migrants.
In a video posted on social media on Tuesday, Meloni said: “The facts are known. The International Criminal Court, after months of consideration, issued an arrest warrant against Tripoli’s chief of judicial police, Almasri.
“Curiously, the [ICC] did so just when this person was about to enter Italian territory, after he had peacefully stayed in three other European states for twelve days.”
Meloni expressed indignation at the investigation, adding: “I cannot be blackmailed. I will not be intimidated.”
On Wednesday, Meloni posted a new message on X: “Our commitment to defend Italy, will continue, as always, with determination and without hesitation.
“When the security of the nation and the interest of Italians are at stake, there is no room for backward steps. Straight on our way,” she said.
Government vs judiciary
The investigation into Meloni is only the latest episode in the growing tensions between the executive and the judiciary, at a time when the prime minister’s government is preparing to reform the Italian justice system.
On Wednesday, the Court of Cassation — the highest court in the judicial system — is expected to decide whether the documents in the Visibilia case, which involves Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè, should remain in Milan or be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office in Rome.
Santanchè, among others, is accused by Milan prosecutors of benefit fraud at the Visibilia publishing and advertising groupduring the COVID pandemic.
The case focuses on allegations that Visibilia, which Santanchè sold before going into government in 2022, was granted layoff funds during the pandemic for 13 employees who were not made aware of the payments and instead continued to work. She is also being investigated for alleged falsification of financial statements in a different probe.Santanche has denied any wrongdoing.a
Separatetly, judges at the Court of Appeal in Rome are expected to rule on Thursday on whether or not to validate the processing of 49 asylum seekers who were transported to Albania by an Italian navy ship on Tuesday after being picked up in international waters.
It is third attempt by Italy to carry out its controversial plan to process asylum applications in special Albanian centers.
On the previous two occasions — in October and November — Italian judges refused to approve the detention of two small groups at the Albanian centers. The migrants were then returned to Italy triggering controversy in the Meloni government.