ROME: Italy’s parliament Thursday blocked attempts to prosecute two senior ministers and a top official over the controversial release of a Libyan official suspected of committing war crimes.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano — who oversees intelligence matters — have been investigated for their roles in the release and repatriation of Osama Almasri Najim in January.
The Tribunal of Ministers — a judicial body tasked with handling cases involving government members — requested parliamentary approval in August to prosecute them.
But the lower house of parliament, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition has a comfortable majority, voted Thursday to reject the request.
Najim, head of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested in Turin on January 19 on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, only to be released by a Rome court on procedural grounds.
