But an Italian court ruled that prosecutors had made a procedural error and freed him on Tuesday. He was repatriated to Libya aboard an Italian government plane, according to a Libyan government official.
Opposition parties and rights groups condemned the publication, calling it “hypocritical” and “scandalous.” Italy is a founding member of the ICC and the treaty that created it was signed in Rome in 1998. All states parties to the Rome Statute are required to arrest and surrender wanted persons to the ICC for detention. judged.
The Meloni government is counting on the cooperation of the Libyan government to block the departure of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, a fundamental issue for Meloni’s right-wing government. Last year, irregular boat landings fell by more than 60 percent after Meloni worked to reach agreements with North African governments.
The Rome appeals court ruled the arrest “irregular” because the Justice Ministry had not been consulted. “As a result, the validation conditions are not met and, consequently, a request for the application of the precautionary measure results in the immediate release of the person received,” according to the court order reported by the security agency. ANSA press.
Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi demanded an explanation from the Justice Minister on Wednesday, telling the Senate: “The Prime Minister said she wanted to track down traffickers all over the world. Yesterday she got one, that the ICC defined a dangerous criminal and you released him and sent him back to Tripoli on a government plane. Is it just me who thinks this is crazy or is this the behavior of a hypocritical and indecent government?
Riccardo Noury, spokesperson for Amnesty International Italy, said it was “scandalous” that Italy was ignoring its obligations to the ICC.
MP Angelo Bonelli of the Green Europe party said: “Wasn’t Meloni supposed to wage war on human traffickers around the world and stop them? Today, she released Libyan trafficker and torturer Almasri Habish and returned him to Libya, despite an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. What a shame.
Migrant relief NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans said the Italian government’s “shameful protection” shows the government’s deal with Libya is “dangerous and criminal.”
Meloni’s office did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
