Italy says International Criminal Court made an 'immense mess' out of Libyan warlord arrest warrant

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Italy’s justice minister has strongly defended the government’s decision to free and repatriate a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court

ROME — Italy’s justice minister strongly defended the government's decision to repatriate a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court, saying Wednesday that the court itself had made an «immense mess” of the case by issuing a contradictory and flawed arrest warrant.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told the lower chamber of parliament that he was right to proceed carefully with the Jan. 18 warrant against Ossama Anjiem, also known as Ossama al-Masri, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He said that The Hague-based court later “corrected, or rather completely overturned the previous warrant” by changing the timespan of al-Masri’s alleged crimes.

“The court itself detected them and tried to change them five days later, because it realized that an immense mess was made,” he told the Chamber of Deputies.

The Italian government has been under fire from the ICC, human rights groups and opposition lawmakers ever since it freed al-Masri from prison on Jan. 21 and sent him back to Libya aboard an Italian military aircraft. Al-Masri heads the Tripoli branch of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention centers run by the government-backed Special Defense Force.

The ICC warrant available on the court's website accuses al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Mitiga prison in Libya starting in 2015 that are punishable with life in prison. The ICC said he was accused of murder, torture, rape and sexual violence.

Al-Masri was arrested in Turin on the ICC warrant on Jan. 19 at 9:30 a.m.,