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Alleged Almasri victims ask Meloni why he was released

Refugees at Lower House press conference organized by opposition

Alleged Almasri victims ask Meloni why he was released

Redazione Ansa

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 29 - A spokesperson for the NGO Refugees in Libya asked government members why Libyan judicial police commander Najeem Osama Almasri Habish had been released and sent back to Libya during a press conference organized on Wednesday by members of the opposition at the Lower House.
    The spokesman, David Yambio of Sudan, said that the organization which he said also represents the "survivors and victims" of Almasri, who is alleged to have been in charge of prison facilities in Tripoli, also asked for the "immediate cessation of accords between Italy and Libya allowing abuses to be committed against migrants".
    Refugees in Libya, a group representing refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants set up in Italy last year, also demanded a "public commitment" from the government "to ask for the release of all those who are still imprisoned in Mitiga and in other detention centres" as well as "an official explanation as to why Almasri, who was described by the Italian government and in particular by (Interior Minister Matteo) Piantedosi as dangerous, was released instead of being handed over to the International Criminal Court" (ICC), said Yambio. Almasri was arrested by Italian authorities last weekend on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court and later released and flown back to Libya.
    The International Criminal Court has urged Italy to provide clarifications on the release of the man which it said headed Tripoli's infamous Mitiga detention centre where migrants, including children, were tortured and forced to fight.
    The court said last week that he is alleged to have been in charge of prison facilities in Tripoli, where thousands of persons were detained for prolonged periods, and that he is "suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, allegedly committed in Libya from February 2015 onwards".
    During the press conference on Wednesday, a number of refugees said they had been tortured and abused by Almasri.
    Some of them showed photos of their attempts to flee the Mitiga camp.
    "Almasri hit us, he tortured us for days", said Lam Magok, stressing that he was also forced to remove the bodies of people who died at the camp.
    "It's something I'll never forget", he said.
    "We want justice".
    Magok went on to say it was "a huge shock to learn that Almasri had been allowed to return to Libya".
    The press conference was promoted by the Green-Left Alliance (AVS) and attended, among others, by Italian Left (SI) leader Nicola Fratoianni, Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein, +Europa leader Riccardo Magi and centrist Italia Viva (IV) lawmaker Maria Elena Boschi.
    Italy has an agreement with Libya to provide aid for its coast guard in exchange for cooperation on combatting illegal migration crossings.
    However, the 2017 deal, renewed every three years and approved by the European Council, has been slammed by NGOs for allegedly fostering illegal pushbacks.
    People who are intercepted by Libyan coast guard and brought back to shore are often taken to the now notorious detention facilities where they are subjected to dire conditions and abuse. (ANSA).
   

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