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Italy’s parliament has blocked attempts to prosecute two senior ministers and a top government official over the controversial release of a Libyan official suspected of war crimes.
On Thursday, lawmakers rejected a request to allow legal proceedings against Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, who oversees intelligence matters.
The Tribunal of Ministers, a judicial body responsible for handling cases involving government members, had sought parliamentary approval in August to prosecute the trio over their roles in the release and repatriation of Osama Almasri Najim in January.
Najim, head of Libya’s judicial police, had been arrested in Turin on January 19, under a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), but was released by a Rome court on procedural grounds before being flown back to Tripoli on an Italian air force plane.
Nordio defended the decision to release Najim, claiming the ICC arrest warrant was poorly drafted.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing coalition holds a strong majority in the lower house, was also investigated in the case but stated in August that she had been cleared.
The parliamentary vote effectively shields the ministers and Mantovano from prosecution in the Libya matter.
