The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched an inquiry into Italy for releasing Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, a Libyan suspected of torture, murder, and rape, instead of extraditing him to The Hague. Al-Masri was arrested in Turin on January 19 under an ICC warrant. However, he was returned to Libya on an Italian military aircraft after Rome’s court of appeals directed his release due to a technical error in the ICC warrant’s transmission. Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio defended the decision, arguing that the warrant was flawed and contradictory. The ICC’s inquiry challenges Italy’s non-compliance with its arrest request, raising concerns over Rome’s ties with Libya, where al-Masri reportedly heads the Tripoli branch of a network of detention centers operated by the Special Defense Force, a de facto military police unit.
Source: VOA