ICC gives Italy 30 days to explain Almasri case

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 18 - The Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged Italy to present its observations to explain why it did not hand over to the court Libyan general Osama Almasri after Italian authorities arrested the judicial police chief on January 19 in Turin, according to a court document delivered to Rome.
    The Pre-Trial Chamber, a judicial body of the ICC, invited Rome to provide by March 17 2025 all the information on why Almasri, who was arrested on an ICC warrant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, was not handed over to the court.
    It also called on Italy to present observations over the fact that Almasri was not searched and the material in his possession was not seized.
    The Pre-Trial Chamber notified Rome that it has opened a formal procedure over its failure to comply with the court's demand because, rather than extraditing Almasri to the Netherlands, where the ICC is based, Italian authorities released him on a technicality two days after his arrest and sent him back to Libya aboard an Italian secret services aircraft, Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Fatto Quotidiano reported on Tuesday.
    According to newspapers, the ICC told the Italian government to present a report within the next 30 days.
    The court also asked for an explanation over the "lack of cooperation in searching and seizing material" in Almasri's possession, per the reports.
    The Chamber will examine the documentation before opening a probe on the alleged lack of cooperation.
    ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah announced earlier this month that the case of Italy's alleged failure to execute the ICC warrant for Almasri on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in a Tripoli migrant detention centre was before the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber but no Italian official was up before the court itself as yet.
    He said Rome could file "observations on the failure to cooperate".
    Almasri, wanted for allegedly torturing, raping and murdering migrants as young as five since 2015, was arrested by Italian security police after attending a Juventus soccer match in Turin on January 19 only to be released and flown back to Libya to a hero's welcome two days later.
    Justice Minister Carlo Nordio has blamed errors in the ICC warrants, which he described as a "mess", while Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has said Rome was forced to expel the general as a danger to Italy. (ANSA).