With three secret ballots and an absolute majority, the Chamber of Deputies rejected the request for authorization to proceed against the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio, the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi and the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council Alfredo Mantovano, involved in the controversial affair linked to the release of the Libyan Almasri, accused of torture and rape.
The votes in favor of the Authorizations Committee's report—which proposed denial—were 251, against 117.
At the end of the vote, the announcement was greeted with applause from the center-right benches. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, present in the Chamber for the vote, left the chamber immediately after the result, but not before congratulating the ministers seated next to her.
Nordio appeared visibly satisfied, surrounded by his government colleagues and parliamentarians from the majority, shaking hands and patting him on the back.
The opposition accused the government of interfering with an International Criminal Court investigation and of blocking, for political reasons, the arrest of an alleged war criminal . Angelo Bonelli (AVS) delivered a harsh speech in the Chamber, calling it a "dark page for the Republic" and accusing the government of "freeing a war criminal."
Bonelli addressed harsh words to both Nordio and President Meloni: "You have constructed a strategy of lies. Nordio lied to Parliament, Meloni lied to the country by claiming that the release depended on a Court of Appeal: it's false."
Riccardo Ricciardi (M5S) also attacked Meloni, urging her to "return to the Chamber not only to save her ministers," but also to address key issues such as tariffs, genocide, and the situation of Italian citizens involved in the Flotilla's humanitarian mission.
After the vote, Nordio spoke briefly on Transatlantic, forcefully defending the government's actions and harshly criticizing the Tribunal of Ministers: "As a modest jurist, the torture the Tribunal has wrought on the rules is such that I'm surprised the codes haven't fallen from their hands, assuming they consulted them at all."
