The Italian government has been criticized for allowing the Libyan war accused of war crimes

ROME (AP) – Italian opposition lawyers and human rights groups expressed outrage Wednesday after Italy released a Libyan military commander on a technicality, after he was arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio was pleased with the release on Tuesday of Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, when he appeared before the Senate. Nordio did not respond to several requests for details about the release or to demands that he confirm Italy’s commitment to support international justice.

Al-Masri heads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centers run by the government-backed Special Protection Forces. The ICC warrant, dated January 18 and cited in Italian court documents, accuses him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Mitiga prison in Libya since 2011, and his prison sentence.

Al-Masri was arrested on Sunday in Turin, where he was said to have attended the Juventus-Milan football match the night before.

An appeals court in Rome ordered his release on Tuesday, and he was flown back to Libya on an Italian secret service plane, in what the appeals court said was a procedural error in his arrest. The decision said that Nordio should have been notified before the time of his arrest, as the Department of Justice handles all relations with the Hague-based court.

Al-Masri returned to Tripoli late Tuesday. He was received at the Mitiga Airport by supporters celebrating his release, according to the media. Pictures circulated online show dozens of young men singing and carrying what appears to be al-Masri on their shoulders at the airport.

The lawyers of the opposition groups expressed their anger and wanted clarity, with former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi accusing the right-wing government of hypocrisy in light of its alleged attacks on human traffickers.

“But when the trafficker is told by the International Criminal Court that he is a dangerous criminal who lives at your table, it is not the same as expelling him, bringing him home to Libya on an Italian secret plane,” said Renzi from Italy. Viva party. “Either you are sick or this is a picture of a hypocritical and dishonorable government.”

The Democratic Party demanded that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni answer directly to parliament about the case, saying it raised “difficult questions” given the well-known abuses in Libyan prisons that Al-Masri is accused of.

Italy has close relations with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli and any trial in the Hague of al-Masri would bring unwanted attention to Italy’s migration policies and its support for the Libyan coast guard, which it has funded to prevent migrants from leaving.

Human rights groups have documented horrific abuses in Libya’s detention centers where migrants are held, and accused Italy of complicity in their mistreatment.

“It is important to understand why al-Masri is in Italy and why he was released so quickly despite the international arrest warrant,” said Democratic Alliance lawmaker Paolo Ciani. He said the choice “seems to be political.”

Another senator noted that the plane sent to pick up al-Masri was sent to Turin before the Rome appeals court handed down its decision, suggesting that the decision to bring him home had already been made by Meloni’s office, which oversees Italian secrets.

Two humanitarian groups, Mediterranea Saving Humans and Refugees in Libya, have documented the torture of immigrants in detention centers in Libya, and said they do not believe that Italy released al-Masri.

“Those of us who managed to survive believed that it was indeed possible not only to get justice, but more importantly to prevent this criminal from continuing unabated,” they said in a joint statement. “Instead, in recent days we have seen something disgraceful, unbelievable in the way it has been disgraced.”

But Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist who works with Beleady Organization for Human Rights, which focuses on immigrants in Libya, said that Italy is expected to release al-Masri. He said his release shows the power of the military to control the flow of migrants to Europe through the Libyan coast.

“The military in Tripoli is able to pressure (Italy) because they control the migrant file,” he told the Associated Press.

The forces in western Libya are part of the official military tasked with preventing migrants at sea, including EU-trained coastguards. They also run government detention centers, where abuse of migrants is common.

As a result, the militias – some of which are led by UN-sanctioned warlords – are benefiting from the billions of dollars the European Union is giving Libya to stop the flow of migrants to Europe.

The ICC prosecutor’s office did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for the European Commission confirmed that all EU members are committed to cooperating with the court.

EU commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said: “We respect the impartiality of the court and are fully committed to international criminal justice to fight impunity.” At the 2023 summit, EU leaders committed to “full cooperation with the court, including the immediate execution of any court. arrests are pending,” he added.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Raf Casert in Brussels contributed.