Italy ministers accused over release of Libyan official

ROME (AFP): Judges have requested permission from Italy’s parliament to bring proceedings against two government ministers over the release of a Libyan wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports said Wednesday.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio is accused of failing to perform his official duties and also, alongside Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, of aiding and abetting Osama Almasri Najim’s return to Libya.

Najim, head of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested in the northern Italian city of Turin on January 19 on an ICC warrant, only to be released by Rome’s Court of Appeal two days later and immediately flown to Tripoli on an Italian air force plane.

He is accused of charges including murder, rape and torture relating to his management of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention center, and his release sparked a major political row in Italy.

Allegations that Meloni and her ministers acted improperly have been under consideration by a special court that deals with ministerial cases.

Meloni revealed on Monday she had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

But the court has now requested permission from parliament’s Chamber of Deputies to bring a case against her ministers — although this will almost certainly be denied, as Meloni’s coalition government has a majority.

According to Italian news agencies, Nordio is accused of failing to comply with ICC requests over the arrest of Najim, and effectively standing by when he could have intervened to keep the Libyan in prison.

Piantedosi and under-secretary Alfredo Mantovano, who is responsible for the intelligence service, are both also accused of aiding and abetting Najim’s release, and also of complicit embezzlement.

Piantedosi ordered the Libyan’s expulsion from Italy and Mantovano ordered the use of a state plane to send him home, despite, like Nordio, being fully aware of the requests for cooperation from the ICC, according to the court.

Meloni on Monday said the judges had cleared her, making what she called the “absurd” conclusion that she was not informed about the decisions on Najim.

She defended the government’s actions, saying they were entirely focused on “protecting the safety of Italians.”

Nordio has previously said the ICC warrant was badly drafted, while Piantedosi claimed that once Najim had been released from prison he was too dangerous to remain in Italy.

Piantedosi also denied allegations by some opposition politicians that the suspect was sent home to avoid jeopardizing relations with Libya.