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Italy’s release of ICC-indicted Libyan warlord Ossama al-Masri has sparked backlash from opposition and civil society, who accuse Meloni of hypocrisy for pledging to uphold the rule of law and fight global human trafficking.
Last weekend, Ossama al-Masri, who faces an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed at Mitiga prison in Libya since 2015, was arrested by Italian authorities in Turin.
Following an order by the Rome Court of Appeal, he was released and flown back to Libya on an aircraft operated by the Italian secret services.
According to Italian national media reports, Al-Masri is believed to have been linked to the influential military Special Deterrence Force and, as part of his employment with the Libyan judicial police, oversaw a migrant detention facility in Tripoli.
“Meloni declared war on human traffickers around the world, but they arrested one and ended up sending him back home. A very unclear situation,” said Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein (S&D).
Schlein’s party also called for explanations from Meloni in parliament.
“Italy, which claims to want to hunt down traffickers ‘all over the globe,’ was quietly hosting an international criminal,” said the NGO Sea Watch.
Funding the ‘abuse machine’
Human rights NGOs have raised concerns about the situation, highlighting Italy’s migration links with Libya.
In 2017, Italy and Libya inked a memorandum of understanding on migration to address issues like “strengthening border security between the State of Libya and the Republic of Italy”, as well as illegal immigration, human trafficking, and smuggling.
The agreement is renewed every three years and has been widely criticised for repeated reports of human rights abuses in Libya and by the Libyan coastguard, which receives funding from Italy under the agreement.
Al-Masri “was part of the abuse machine that the agreements with Italy and Europe feed,” Sea Watch added.
“Some of us have endured torture in the Mitiga prison itself and have witnessed innocent young boys dying before our eyes,” said a statement from the NGO RefugeesinLibya, which protects refugees and asylum seekers living in Libya who have been violently attacked.
“Given that some of us are also witnesses before the International Criminal Court, and given the total impunity enjoyed by the big human traffickers in Italy, we fear for our lives and for the lives of those who had the courage to denounce, “the NGO added.
Al-Masri’s arrival in Libya was widely documented on social media, with videos circulating of him returning to Tripoli and being greeted at Mitiga airport by supporters celebrating his release.
However, his release took place without prior notice or consultation with the Hague-based court, the ICC said in a statement on Wednesday.
In its statement on the situation, the ICC said it was “seeking” and had “not yet obtained” confirmation from the Italian authorities on the steps that have been taken. The ICC also called on all members to fully “cooperate in its investigations and criminal actions.”
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will report on the case to the Italian parliament next week.
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The post Italy-ICC row casts doubt on Meloni’s ‘war on traffickers’ appeared first on Energy News Beat.
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