A parliamentary committee in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies has moved to reject a request from the Ministerial Tribunal to permit the prosecution of three government ministers. The decision concerns Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, in connection with the affair of Osama Nagim, the former head of the Libyan Judicial Police Agency, who was arrested in Italy before being controversially released and returned to Libya.
The official Italian news agency, ANSA, reported that the Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to vote on the matter on 9 October, where the committee’s rejection is widely expected to be confirmed, thereby denying authorisation for the ministers’ prosecution.
The Call for Trial and the Allegations
The Ministerial Tribunal in Rome had petitioned parliament to try the three ministers following the Italian authorities’ decision to free Nagim earlier this year. Nagim is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on serious charges, including war crimes, torture, rape, and murder, allegedly committed while he managed a detention centre in Tripoli.
The Tribunal asserts that the ministers’ decision to release Nagim and facilitate his return to Libya was motivated by fears of potential reprisals against Italian citizens and interests in Libya had he been handed over to the ICC. Furthermore, investigative documents indicate that Justice Minister Carlo Nordio failed to respond to a request from the Rome Court of Appeal to uphold the arrest warrant for Nagim, leading directly to his release. Nordio also faces a specific charge of dereliction of duty. The three ministers are collectively accused of assisting Nagim’s expedited return to Libya.
Prime Minister’s Support and Legislative Obstacle
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has staunchly defended her cabinet members, labelling the Ministerial Tribunal’s decision “absurd” and stressing that government decisions are taken collectively, making it inappropriate to single out individual ministers for responsibility. Meloni herself saw the case against her dropped last August. However, the lawyer representing an Ivorian woman allegedly tortured by Nagim, Angela Maria Bitonti, has appealed against the dismissal of charges against the Prime Minister.
Under Italian law, any continuation of legal proceedings against the ministers requires parliamentary approval. Given the comfortable majority enjoyed by the governing right-wing coalition led by Meloni, the chances of the prosecutions being approved are considered remote.
Details of the Release and Libyan Repercussions
The saga began on 19 January, when Nagim was apprehended at a hotel in Turin under an ICC arrest warrant. However, he was released just two days later, on the 21st of the month, by a decision from the Rome Court of Appeal based on procedural grounds, before being returned to Tripoli aboard a government plane.
On the very day of his return, Nagim was dismissed from his post as head of the Libyan Judicial Police Agency following the international accusations of grave human rights violations. In related developments, the Libyan news site “Al-Masdar” reported that Nagim was replaced by Major General Suleiman Ajaj at the head of the Judicial Security Agency, following a decision by the newly appointed head of the Judicial Police Agency, Major General Abdul Fattah Dhaboub.
Al-Masdar indicated that Dhaboub has begun an internal reorganisation within the agency, aimed at improving Libya’s international image and reputation in the wake of the allegations against Nagim. The same outlet had published a controversial video last summer showing Nagim, the ICC fugitive, assaulting an elderly man, a scene that provoked widespread condemnation both inside and outside Libya.
