The prime minister of Italy says that prosecutors are investigating her for the release of a Libyan warlord with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni presided over the government’s decision to release Osama Elmasry Njeem, the head of Libya’s judicial police and director of a detention camp in the country.
Italian authorities expelled Njeem three days after his arrest on Jan. 21, flying him back to Libya instead of releasing him in Italy. A crowd of supporters cheered Njeem’s arrival at the airport in Libya’s capital of Tripoli.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
The Italian Interior Ministry said they released Njeem due to a technicality. Meloni, meanwhile, said the release happened after a court found they couldn’t act on the ICC’s warrant because they had not sent it to the Italian Justice Ministry.
Meloni also accused investigators of targeting her for political reasons, with the right-wing Meloni noting the complaint came from a left-wing politician. The BBC says that being under investigation in Italian law doesn’t necessarily mean charges are coming.
The ICC wants Njeem over charges he committed war crimes in the civil war that followed the fall of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Meloni has built close ties with the current Libyan government, funding their authorities and coast guard to prevent immigration from Libya and other North African countries to Italy.
