Tribunal of Ministers Initiates Investigation into Almasri Case

Rome: The Tribunal of Ministers has commenced an investigation into the case of Osama Almasri, the Libyan judicial police chief who was released on a technicality and returned to Libya aboard a secret services plane just two days after his arrest in Italy on January 19. The arrest was made by Italian authorities based on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to Ansa News Agency, the investigation involves the collection of documents from the justice ministry, Rome’s appeals court-which ordered Almasri’s release-and the State attorney’s office at the appeals tribunal. These documents are essential to understand the sequence of events between Almasri’s initial arrest at a hotel in Turin and his subsequent release by the Rome appeals court on January 21.

The release decision followed Justice Minister Carlo Nordio’s failure to respond to a request from the tribunal to endorse the arrest. Premier Giorgia Meloni, Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano are under investigation following a criminal complaint filed by attorney Luigi Li Gotti. The complaint accuses them of aiding and abetting and embezzlement, citing the use of a secret services flight to repatriate Almasri to Libya.

Li Gotti’s complaint, filed with the State Attorney’s Office in Rome, was communicated to government officials and referred by Rome’s chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi to the Tribunal of Ministers, in accordance with constitutional law regarding investigations involving cabinet members.

The Tribunal of Ministers will examine court documents, including communications between the court and the justice ministry, the Italian embassy in the Netherlands, and an undelivered draft document by ministry officials intended to keep Almasri in detention.

Justice Minister Nordio addressed the technicality leading to Almasri’s release in a parliamentary report, citing issues with the ICC arrest warrant that prevented a timely response to the Rome appeals court. The justice ministry is responsible for liaising with the ICC, located in The Hague.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano defended the DIS intelligence department against legal actions initiated by two Italian newspapers, Il Foglio and L’Unit , over alleged defamatory articles concerning Italian-Libyan relations. Mantovano highlighted the challenging situation in Libya, referencing an assassination attempt on Libyan Minister for Cabinet Affairs Adel Jomaa, and emphasized the need for Italy and Europe to support Libya.

The DIS department announced legal proceedings against the newspapers for their reports, which it claims contained false and defamatory information, including an article alleging that the AISE intelligence agency director informed Libyan authorities about ICC wanted individuals.

Mantovano criticized the transformation of freedom of information into libel, defending the intelligence community’s integrity and explaining that legal action is the only recourse for intelligence officials accused of crimes due to their limited public defense options.