Italy frees senior Libyan police officer after arrest

Italy has released a senior member of Libya’s judicial police after he was arrested on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crime allegations, an interior ministry source said on January 21st, according to Reuters.
The man was released due to a legal technicality after the police who arrested him failed to inform the justice ministry immediately, which was a requirement, the interior ministry source said. The man has already boarded a flight for Tripoli, according to Italian news agencies, such as ANSA.
The suspect, named by Italy’s justice ministry as Najeem Osema Almasri Habish and is listed as Osama Njeem in Libyan government records.
The man was captured in the northern Italian city of Turin on January 19th following a tip from Interpol.
His arrest was praised by migrant rescue organisations and human rights charities. Mediterranea, an Italian migrant rescue charity, welcomed the arrest and further reiterated its criticism of the agreements between the EU and Italy in which they aid Libyan authorities in stopping migrant migrant sea crossings into Europe.
The United Nations, along with human rights experts and international charities such as Doctors Without Borders, have also condemned the deals between the EU and Italy, due to it encouraging the exploitation and abuse of migrants in Libya.
The suspect managed a migrant detention centre in Tripoli as part of his occupation with the Libyan judicial police, according to Italian daily Avvenire, who were the first to report his arrest. In addition, Avvenire also reported that he was affiliated with the military Special Deterrence Force.
Italy has also released an Iranian businessman who was detained on a US warrant after Rome’s justice minister overturned his arrest, Reuters reports.
Reuters