Some senators express dismay that Italy ignored its obligations to the ICC to turn over suspects.
Italy’s interior minister says a Libyan man detained under an international war crimes arrest warrant and then unexpectedly released had been swiftly repatriated because of his “social dangerousness”.
Osama Elmasry Njeem, also known as Osama Almasri Njeem, was detained in Turin on Sunday under an arrest warrant issued by The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), which said he was suspected of crimes including the murder, torture and rape of detainees in Libya.
He was freed on Tuesday, however, due to a legal technicality, and flown by an Italian state aircraft back to Tripoli.
The ICC demanded an explanation, saying it had not been consulted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi fielded pointed questions from opposition lawmakers during a Senate session on Thursday.
“Following the nonvalidation of the arrest, … considering that the Libyan citizen … presented a profile of social dangerousness, … I adopted an expulsion order for reasons of state security,” Piantedosi said.
Some senators expressed dismay that Italy had ignored its obligations to the court to turn over suspects. They repeated calls that Prime Minister Georgia Meloni respond to lawmakers’ questions in an open session.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani made light of the ICC’s objections, telling reporters the court “is not the word of God. It’s not the font of all truth.”
“Italy is a sovereign country, and we make our own decisions,” he added.
Njeem’s arrest and release come about a week after Rome and Tripoli resumed direct flights between their two capitals after a decade-long hiatus.
Njeem is a brigadier general in Libya’s Judicial Police who the ICC said is suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes at the Mitiga Detention Centre in Tripoli.
Meloni’s government depends heavily on Libyan security forces to prevent would-be migrants from leaving the North African nation and heading to southern Italy.
Rome has a deal with the North African country – dating from 2017 and renewed under Meloni’s government – to provide funding and training to the Libyan coastguard.
Piantedosi told lawmakers during a question session in the Senate that Rome’s appeals court ordered Njeem’s release because they considered his arrest noncompliant with procedures.
The ICC said the crimes listed in the arrest warrant had been “committed by Mr. Njeem personally, ordered by him, or with his assistance, by members of the Special Deterrence Forces”.
Opposition parties said Piantedosi’s explanations were inadequate and called on Meloni to come to parliament to clarify them.
“You are plunging our country into utter shame. You talk about technicalities, but you have made a precise political choice,” said Senator Giuseppe De Cristofaro from the Green-Left Alliance party.