A man who claims to be a victim and witness of abuses allegedly committed by Libyan general Osama Almasri has filed a criminal complaint with the Rome prosecutor’s office.
He has accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi of aiding and abetting the suspected war criminal, judicial sources said on Monday.
The alleged victim, Lam Magok Biel Ruei, filed the criminal complaint, drafted by attorney Francesco Romeo, alleging that Meloni, Nordio, and Piantedosi “helped the Libyan torturer evade justice.”
Last month, attorney Luigi Li Gotti also filed a criminal complaint against Meloni, Nordio, Piantedosi, and Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano over the release and return to Libya of Almasri on 21 January. Almasri had been arrested in Turin two days earlier on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
What does the criminal complaint contain?
The complaint filed on Monday, now under review by the State Attorney’s Office in Rome, criticises “the inertia of the justice minister, who could and should have requested the pre-trial arrest of the criminal wanted by the International Criminal Court.” It also condemns “the expulsion decree signed by the interior minister, which included an immediate State flight returning Almasri to Libya, allowing him to escape arrest and trial.”
The lawyer representing the alleged victim, who is currently staying at a facility in Rome run by migrants’ rights organisation Baobab Experience, referenced an official ICC statement dated 22 January 2025. The statement allegedly confirms that Italian authorities were informed of the arrest warrant and had been involved in prior discussions to ensure they would receive and act on the court’s request.
The same statement, the lawyer claimed, shows that Italian authorities had asked the ICC not to publicly comment on Almasri’s arrest, demonstrating their awareness of the case.
Almasri, the Libyan police chief and director of Tripoli’s notorious Mitiga detention centre, is wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence committed in Libya from February 2015 onwards. He was freed and flown back to Libya after an apparent procedural issue with his case.
Piantedosi stated that Almasri was expelled from Italy because he was deemed a dangerous individual.
The first complaint against the prime minister and other government officials over Almasri’s release has been forwarded to the Tribunal of Ministers, which will determine whether the case should proceed or be shelved.
