Institutions misinforming public on Almasri case says ANM

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 29 - The secretary general of the judiciary's union ANM, Salvatore Casciaro, told ANSA on Wednesday that the State attorney's office in Rome was obliged to inform Premier Giorgia Meloni and other officials that a criminal complaint had been filed against them over the release of wanted alleged war criminal and Libyan police commander Osama Almasri but the investigation would be carried out by the tribunal of ministers and not by prosecutors, under a constitutional law.
    The communication that the complaint had been delivered to the tribunal of ministers "is a due act, contemplated by a constitutional law that provides for activities of investigation to be undertaken by the tribunal of ministers and not by the Republic's State attorneys", said Casciaro, the secretary general of the National Association of Magistrates (ANM).
    "Only in case of complaints that are manifestly unfounded and fanciful, there can be a very small margin of evaluation" by prosecutors on whether to transmit the file to the tribunal of ministers, said Casciaro, adding this had "clearly not been considered the case" in this instance.
    In a video posted on Tuesday afternoon, Meloni said that she had received notice of a probe over Libyan judicial police commander Najeem Osema Almasri Habish, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrested in Italy, released on a technicality, and flown back to Tripoli to a hero's welcome aboard an Italian secret service plane.
    She said she had been notified that she was under investigation into possible aiding and abetting and embezzlement of public funds from Rome's chief prosecutor, Francesco Lo Voi, recalling he had unsuccessfully prosecuted Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini for allegedly abducting migrants as part of his closed ports policy to migrant rescue ships as interior minister in 2019.
    She said the same notice of investigation had been sent to Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and cabinet secretary with the intelligence brief Alfredo Mantovano.
    Attorney Luigi Li Gotti on 23 January sent the complaint to the Rome prosecutor's office on the case of the liberation of Almasri.
    Casciaro also said on Wednesday that allegations that the notification on Tuesday was in some way connected to the ANM's criticism of a constitutional judicial reform bill to separate the career paths of judges and State attorneys was "simply absurd".
    "Magistrates abide by their duty on a daily basis with rigour, professionality and impartiality", he said, adding that "only hinting at such scenarios constitutes misinformation".
    Under a 1989 constitutional law (art. 6 comma 1 of constitutional law n. 1/89), prosecutors, "omitting any investigation", need to deliver within 15 days a complaint they have received against members of the government to the tribunal of ministers and immediately notify the affected parties so they can get legal council and ask to be heard by the tribunal.
    (ANSA).