"There was no short circuit" in the procedure for requesting the arrest of the Libyan torturer Almasri by the ICC. "It is a step that takes days because the arrest warrant must be well written, well motivated, and the documents must be studied." In the meantime, "the person being arrested is touring Europe and the Court does not know exactly where he is": the ICC "in fact has informed six countries, not just Italy. There is nothing abnormal in all this. No conspiracy theories, no conspiracy theories about Italy because Meloni is there." This is the conviction of Cuno Tarfusser, a former magistrate and former judge of the ICC who defends the work of the tribunal as "absolutely transparent," while Italy now risks "a proceeding for violation" of the same Rome Statute that hosted the signature.
Yesterday, the announcement by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that she is being investigated for aiding and abetting and embezzlement together with ministers Carlo Nordio, Matteo Piantedosi and the undersecretary with responsibility for the Secret Services Alfredo Mantovano for the management of the case of Libyan commander Najeem Osema Almasri Habish, arrested and then released and brought back to Libya on a state intelligence plane . Notification arrived from Rome's chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi: the four suspects, according to sources, have jointly decided to appoint Giulia Bongiorno as their sole lawyer.
The release was ordered by the magistrates, a position also reiterated by Meloni, who however pointed the finger again at the International Criminal Court which «curiously», after «months of reflection», issued the arrest warrant against the head of the judicial police of Tripoli «just as he was about to enter Italy» while «for 12 days he had peacefully stayed in three other European states».
"From the moment the ICC learns that the individual can be captured, because he is wandering around Europe, the alert goes off. I imagine that there was also a discussion that slowed everything down" within the Court, "since the decision was issued by a majority," Tarfusser explained. Subsequently, the ICC "informed the six countries on the basis of the agreements made between the Court and the State," which "provide that the information be given to the Italian Embassy in The Hague. Once the embassies were informed, it informed the countries," he stressed, refuting the accusations against the Court of having "waited" for Almasri to arrive in Italy to request his arrest. Looking at the consequences for Rome, Tarfusser clarified that the Court "cannot impose sanctions on States," but "applies the rules that States, including Italy, have written. And the rules highlight that - within the framework of the cooperation to which all States are obliged - if this cooperation fails, the ICC opens proceedings against the State that has not cooperated, or that is accused or deemed not to have cooperated, and a proceeding is opened to ascertain - or not - the violation of the statutory obligations has occurred».
At the end, "Italy will be asked to justify the reasons. If these are not considered adequate, the Court will issue a decision in which it establishes the violation of the Rome Statute, and will transmit this decision to the United Nations Security Council and to the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which will then provide or not" for the consequences, the former magistrate underlined, then raising doubts even upstream of the affair, on the order of the Court of Appeal of Rome that led to the release of Almasri.
"I think it's wrong, I don't know if it's due to ignorance or not in good faith: they should have validated the arrest and kept the person in prison, then the government should have taken responsibility - which is called reason of state - to do what it deemed appropriate. It's right that the government makes political choices and then takes responsibility before the voter," he said. "We try to apply the law, when we start to interpret it, as the Court of Appeal did, we also make mistakes."
Almasri's release from prison led the government to choose to expel the Libyan. A decision that led to the complaint against Meloni, Piantedosi, Nordio and Mantovano denounced on social media by the prime minister.
But "there is no investigation," Tarfusser clarified. "According to the law, the prosecutor who receives a complaint against a minister must - without carrying out any investigation - transmit it to the Court of Ministers within 15 days. This has been done, giving notice to the interested parties, and therefore there is no notice of investigation" and "it is a necessary act," confirmed the former magistrate. "The only thing that leaves me perplexed is the fact that, considering the deadline of 15 days, I would probably have waited until the fifteenth day to let the matter settle."
(Online Union)