Italy’s Justice Minister Carlo Nordio and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi are set to report to Parliament on the case of Libyan official Osama Njmim, known as Almasri, multiple Italian government sources confirmed to ANSA news agency.
The issue will be discussed at party whips’ meetings in the Lower House and Senate on Tuesday to determine the upcoming parliamentary schedule. The centre-left opposition has been demanding an urgent government briefing, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni under pressure to clarify the circumstances of Almasri’s release.
Last week, opposition parties effectively shut down Parliament in protest, calling for immediate answers. Meanwhile, League party Senator Giulia Bongiorno, representing Meloni, Nordio, Piantedosi, and Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano in the case, held a meeting at the premier’s office, Palazzo Chigi, on Monday.
Italian prosecutors in Perugia have reportedly opened an investigation following a criminal complaint against Rome’s Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi. The complaint was filed after Lo Voi notified Meloni and other officials that they were under investigation for possible aiding and abetting and misuse of public funds in connection to Almasri’s release.
Almasri, a Libyan judicial police commander accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of crimes including rape and murder of migrants since 2015, was arrested in Turin on an ICC warrant but released on a technicality on 21 January. He was then flown back to Tripoli on a State flight, where he received a hero’s welcome.
The Tribunal of Ministers will now decide whether to proceed with the case. Additionally, a man claiming to be a victim of Almasri’s alleged crimes, Lam Magok Biel Ruei, filed a criminal complaint on Monday, accusing Italian officials of helping the Libyan suspect evade justice.
