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Italy claims ICC mishandled Libyan warlord's arrest warrant

Published

1 year ago

February 5, 2025

Italy claims ICC mishandled Libyan warlord's arrest warrant

Carlo Nordio argued that the ICC’s arrest warrant contained contradictions and procedural flaws, leading Italy’s courts to order Ossama al-Masri’s release.

Italy’s justice minister vigorously defended the government’s decision to repatriate a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), arguing on Wednesday that the court itself had made an “immense mess” of the case with an inconsistent and flawed arrest warrant.

Carlo Nordio told the lower house of the Italian parliament that he had acted cautiously regarding the 18 January warrant against Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Nordio said the Hague-based court had later “corrected, or rather completely overturned, the previous warrant” by amending the timeframe of al-Masri’s alleged offences.

“The court itself detected the errors and attempted to amend them five days later, because it realised that an immense mess was made,” Nordio told his colleagues.

The Italian government has faced sharp criticism from the ICC, human rights organisations, and opposition politicians for releasing al-Masri from detention on 21 January and deporting him to Libya on an Italian military aircraft.

Al-Masri was detained in Turin on 19 January, a day after arriving from Germany to watch a football match. He heads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a network of detention centres controlled by the government-backed Special Defence Force.

The ICC warrant, published on the court’s website, accuses al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed at Mitiga prison in Libya from 2015 onwards, including murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence — offences that carry a life sentence.

However, the Italian government insists that Rome’s court of appeal ordered his release due to a technical issue in how the ICC warrant was transmitted, as it initially bypassed the Italian justice ministry.

Nordio reiterated this argument, stating he had only received an “informal email of a few lines” from Interpol three hours after al-Masri’s arrest. He also pointed to contradictions in the original warrant, which initially stated the crimes occurred between 2015 and 2024, but in its conclusions, referred to offences committed from “2011 onwards”.

“An irreconcilable contradiction emerges regarding an essential element of the arrestee’s criminal conduct, regarding the time of the crime committed,” Nordio added.

However, when the ICC publicly unsealed the warrant on 24 January, it issued an amended version to “correct certain typographical and clerical errors”. The updated document confirmed the timeframe as 2015-2024.

Accusations of breaching ICC obligations

Human rights groups have condemned Italy’s decision to repatriate al-Masri, calling it a major violation of its responsibilities as a founding member of the ICC.

Under Article 89 of the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court in 1998, signatories are obligated to comply with arrest and surrender requests.

Opposition lawmakers have seized on the controversy to criticise Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, demanding she personally address parliament on the matter. During Wednesday’s session, they held up placards reading: “Meloni, patriot at large”.

Italy has strong ties with Libya’s internationally recognised government, whose help it relies on to curb migration across the Mediterranean from the North African coast.

Critics have accused Meloni’s government of capitulating to pressure from Libyan militias, allegedly out of fears that had al-Masri been handed over to the ICC, they would retaliate by increasing the number of migrant boats sent towards Italy.

However, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who also addressed parliament on Wednesday, dismissed any suggestion that al-Masri had acted as a government intermediary on migration issues. He also denied that Italy had received threats in connection with his arrest.

Opposition leader Elly Schlein of the Democratic Party sharply criticised Nordio’s defence, arguing that his legal justifications for dismissing the ICC warrant were misplaced.

“Minister Nordio, you didn’t speak to this chamber as a minister, but as the defence lawyer of a torturer,” Schlein said.

Nordio’s critique of the ICC aligns with the government’s broader attempt to shift focus onto the judiciary’s handling of the case. Last week, Rome’s chief prosecutor informed Meloni, Nordio, Piantedosi, and another senior official that they were under investigation for allegedly facilitating irregular migration by repatriating al-Masri.

Meloni has spent days denouncing what she describes as political interference from Italy’s judiciary and defending the government’s decision, framing it as a matter of national security.

“When the security of the nation and the interests of Italians are in play, there is no room for backing down,” she wrote on X on 29 January.

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World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

11 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET