Italian media reports and a Libyan official say police in Turin have arrested a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes.
Italy's government said Thursday a Libyan police chief arrested on a war crimes warrant was flown home after a court found no basis to detain him -- and he was too dangerous to remain.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said Tuesday he was weighing whether to send the case of the head of Libya judicial police, arrested in Turin Sunday, to Rome's prosecutor general (PG) given the "complex" file against an allegedly brutal official wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Responding to reports of the arrest in Italy of Osama Njeem, long-term member of the Tripoli-based militia Deterrence Apparatus for Combatting Terrorism
Italy's ITA Airways resumed direct flights to Libya's Tripoli on Sunday, the first airline from a major west European nation to do so after a 10-year hiatus due to civil war in the north African country,
The International Criminal Court on Wednesday confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant for the head of Libya's judicial police on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, a day after Italy released him.
The reaction came after the Italian government on Tuesday released and sent back home Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri.
Al-Masri had been arrested Sunday in Turin, where he reportedly had attended the Juventus-Milan soccer match the night before. The ICC warrant, dated the day before, accused al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Mitiga prison in Libya starting in 2015 that are punishable with life in prison.
The government attributed the release to procedural reasons. But critics say it is because Italy depends on Libya to stem the flow of migrants from Africa.
Italy's interior minister said on Thursday a Libyan man detained under an international war crimes arrest warrant and then unexpectedly released had been swiftly repatriated because of his "social dangerousness".
Italy’s interior minister has told lawmakers that he ordered the expulsion of a Libyan warlord sought by the International Criminal Court due to security concerns