Almasri arrested in Libya, Palazzo Chigi patched up the situation worse than the hole: what doesn't add up in the government's version?

When the patch is worse than the hole. The surreal version from Palazzo Chigi regarding the arrest of Libyan General Osama Njeem Almasri , the former head of Tripoli's judicial police, arrested on Wednesday in Libya on orders from the Attorney General for abuse against prisoners and the death of one in the Mitiga prison he ran on behalf of the Rada militias, is in fact yet another blunder by Giorgia Meloni 's government on the matter.

The story is now well-known. Almasri was arrested in Turin on January 19 , where he had gone to attend a Juventus football match, on a warrant from the International Criminal Court accusing him of crimes against humanity. Two days later, the Libyan general was expelled from the Meloni government on a secret service flight , welcomed back home by dozens of cheering supporters.

The handling of the matter that prompted the Tribunal of Ministers to investigate ministers Carlo Nordio and Matteo Piantedosi , Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Alfredo Mantovano , and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (the case was immediately dropped) for aiding and abetting. The investigation was blocked at birth by the ruling parties, who in Parliament had voted against the authorization to proceed granted by the Tribunal, which was therefore forced to acknowledge and close the case.

Following Almasri's arrest in Tripoli by Libyan authorities, a new version of the story has emerged from Palazzo Chigi. The government's current theory is that the executive " was aware of an arrest warrant issued by the Tripoli Prosecutor General's Office as early as January 20, 2025. " "This fact was one of the fundamental reasons why the Italian government justified to the ICC the failure to hand over Almasri and his immediate expulsion to Libya," government sources continue to explain. "All of this is readily available to anyone on the Court's website, and has been extensively discussed in the Tribunal of Ministers, the Committee on Authorizations of the Chamber of Deputies, and in the Chamber itself: it is therefore strange that this objective and public fact represents a complete novelty for so many opposition figures."

A thesis that conflicts with the law. Jurist Vitalba Azzolini explains it well, emphasizing that the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant , which the Meloni government ignored by sending Almasri back to Libya, provides no exemptions or exceptions and is more valid than any other national court. The government, in short, was obligated to hand Almasri over directly to the International Criminal Court, pursuant to the rules that bind Italy to promptly comply with ICC arrest warrants. This is also because Almasri's return to Tripoli, expelled to Libya as a free man, did not guarantee his surrender to the ICC: Libya only joined the Court in May 2025 , committing to cooperate with The Hague.

Then there's the issue of dates , discussed today in Repubblica. On January 21, the magistrates of the Tribunal of Ministers wrote in their request for authorization to proceed against members of the Meloni government, "a note from the Attorney General of the State of Libya dated January 20 was delivered directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the document with which Tripoli informed Italy that proceedings were underway in Libya against the general.

Then there's the issue of dates , discussed today in Repubblica. On January 21, the magistrates of the Tribunal of Ministers wrote in their request for authorization to proceed against members of the Meloni government, "a note from the Attorney General of the State of Libya dated January 20 was delivered directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the document with which Tripoli informed Italy that proceedings were underway in Libya against the general.

The problem lies in the timing. "According to documents acquired from AISE, the Italian translation of the extradition request was carried out, by the Italian Embassy in Tripoli itself, between 6:28 PM and 8:02 PM on January 21, 2025," but at that time on that day, the intelligence flight was already ready to depart to take Almasri back to Tripoli. Furthermore, the note in question was only sent to the Ministry of Justice on January 22, when Almasri was already outside the country , already in Libya.