Almasri case, Nordio's response: "The documents we have contradict the newspapers."
The Tribunal of Ministers' investigation into the Italian government's failure to hand over Libyan General Najeem Osama Almasri to the International Criminal Court (ICC) has reportedly concluded.
But the Justice Minister, on the sidelines of the Conference for the Recovery of Ukraine in Rome today, denied the reconstructions reported by the newspapers yesterday, according to which he and his staff were aware of the arrest of the Libyan general from the very beginning: "We will report to Parliament when the time comes, but the documents we have radically contradict what is reported in the newspapers ."
The conclusion of the investigations will then lead to some decisions: archiving or requesting indictment for one or more members of the government under investigation, from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to the Undersecretary at Palazzo Chigi Alfredo Mantovano , to the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio and the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi , for aiding and abetting, embezzlement , and the Keeper of the Seals alone for failure to perform official duties .
Newspaper previews: "Nordio knew what was happening."The Corriere della Sera and Repubblica reported the details yesterday. The documents, the Corriere states, confirm that " since early Sunday afternoon, Nordio's chief of staff, Giusi Bartolozzi, knew what was happening" and instructed the magistrates of the Department of Justice to speak with caution.
In the early afternoon of that day, the newspaper reconstructs, when Almasri had been detained a few hours earlier by the Turin DIGOS, the then head of the DAG, Luigi Birritteri (who later resigned and returned to his role), wrote an email to Bartolozzi to indicate the lack of authorization for the wanted man's arrest, and to work on finding a way to validate the arrest and proceed with Almarsi's surrender. Bartolozzi replied that she had already been informed.
Urging caution: "Maximum confidentiality and caution" in the transmission of information and the use of Signal. La Repubblica also discussed the same email, emphasizing that "The data is crucial because it demonstrates that Italy had ample time to correct the procedural error reported by the Rome Court of Appeal regarding the Ministry of Justice's failure to transmit the information. And that it did not want to do so due to a specific political choice . Furthermore, it contradicts Minister Nordio's statement that the office was notified of the Libyan criminal's arrest only on Monday, January 20."
The Libyan Attorney General's Office announced " the initiation of a criminal case against police officer Osama Almasri , in accordance with the rules of national jurisdiction," following the removal of procedural restrictions by the Ministry of Justice. Al-Masri, head of the judicial police that oversees Tripoli's detention centers, is accused of war crimes for cases of "cruel treatment, torture , rape , sexual violence, and murder " committed in Mitiga prison.
Rai News 24
