Opposition Demands Justice Minister Nordio’s Resignation Over Almasri Case ‘Lie’

Rome: Most of Italy’s opposition parties on Wednesday called for Justice Minister Carlo Nordio to resign for allegedly lying about the case of Libyan General Osama Almasri, who was arrested by Italian authorities in January on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity but was released two days later on a technicality and flown back to Tripoli on a State flight.

According to Ansa News Agency, the calls followed press reports on an investigation by prosecutors with the court of ministers, which indicated that an official at the justice ministry department knew about the arrest on the same day it happened. Nordio had previously stated that the office was only notified the following day.

The court is investigating the events that transpired between the arrest of the Libyan general at a hotel in Turin at dawn on January 19 and his subsequent return to Tripoli on a State flight following his release by a Rome appeals court on January 21. Almasri is wanted f
or the alleged torture, rape, and murder of migrants as young as five in Libya.

The release was ordered after Nordio did not respond to the Rome appeals court’s request to support the arrest. Nordio has attributed the situation to errors in the ICC warrants, which he described as a “mess,” while Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi stated that Rome was compelled to expel the general as a danger to Italy.

The Democratic Party (PD) and the 5-Star Movement (M5S), the two largest opposition parties, along with smaller groups such as the Green-Left Alliance (AVS) and More Europe, all demanded Nordio’s resignation on Wednesday. “We learn from press sources that Minister Nordio made a false statement during an urgent report to parliament on the Almasri case,” said the PD’s justice chief Debora Serracchiani. “He cannot stay in his position one second more.”