(ANSAmed) - ROMA, 23 GEN - A witness described the crimes of
the the Libyan warlord Osama al-Masri on Italia state television
on Jan. 22. The International Criminal Court has urged Italy to
provide clarifications on the release of the man, who is now in
Libya.
"I know him well. His name is Osama. He is the head of a militia
in Libya," a man who was detained in Libyan prisons told Italian
state television in an interview broadcast on Jan. 22.
The man said that he had directly witnessed crimes by the Libyan
Najeem Osama al-Masri. He was speaking during an exclusive
interview on the program on Rai 3.
Masri is in charge of the Tripoli branch of the Reform and
Rehabilitation Institution, a notorious network of detention
centers run by the government-backed Special Defense Force.
"I know him because I was in the prison in Zawiya. He is the
head of the prison in Mitiga, as well as in Zawiya. In Zawiya he
is in charge of a prison," the witness added in the interview.
"He takes migrants from the sea and brings them to the prison.
Then they must pay to get out. He is a trafficker. He is the
head [of a network,Ed.]. Everyone knows him, all the migrants in
Libya."
'He kills people with his own hands to intimidate'
An arrest warrant has been issued for Masri by the International
Criminal Court (ICC). He was arrested in Italy on Saturday but
was subsequently released and repatriated on Jan. 21 to Libya.
"I was inside [prison, Ed.]. I paid 7,000 dinars to get out. If
I had paid more, 10,000 dinars, I could have returned on a boat
in the sea and I would have been sure of arriving in Italy. He
told me this himself, personally," the witness said.
"When we speak about migrants in Libya, he is the top person
because he controls the sector of the sea. He is the one. It's
his group that helps people depart via sea. When you are inside,
you don't have the possibility to eat. This can last even two
months. If you want to die, you die; it isn't his problem. And
you can't speak. If you speak, they beat you and they disappear
you to frighten those [others, Ed.] that are inside," he added.
"I had a friend. They took him out and even now I do not know
whether he is still alive. I did not see him again. To frighten
the people inside, he kills a few people inside. Even using his
hands. I saw this," he claimed, "more than once."
"Two young men" were killed in this manner in front of him by
Masri, he added.
Interior ministry to report on case next week in parliament
The ICC reacted after the release of the Libyan general on Jan.
21, "without advance notice" or any sort of consultation,
despite its warrant against him on charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity.
The Hague-based court issued a statement reminding Italy that it
is obliged to "cooperate fully" with its prosecutions and said
it was still awaiting information about Rome's actions.
Italy's opposition factions have accused the government of
having freed a "torturer".
Former Premier Matteo Renzi, now head of the Italia Viva party,
accused the right-wing government of hypocrisy given its
repeated claims of cracking down on human traffickers.
"But when a trafficker whom the International Criminal Court
tells us is a dangerous criminal lands on your table, it's not
like you chase him down. You brought him home to Libya with a
plane of the Italian secret services," he reportedly stated.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi is expected to speak next
week in parliament on the case.
The man under investigation was held in custody while waiting
for the necessary procedures for his being handed over to be
completed, the ICC noted in the statement.
It added that, on the request of and in full respect for the
Italian authorities, the ICC "abstained from commenting
publicly" on the arrest.
However, it noted, Italy had allegedly on Jan. 21 - without
advance notice or consultation with the ICC - released Masri and
taken him back to Libya. It added that the court is seeking but
has not yet received clarification on what the Italian
authorities had done.
It noted that all states are obliged to cooperate fully with the
ICC in its investigations and penalties for crimes committed.
Judges from Rome's appeals court did not convalidate the arrest
because it had not been preceded by communication with the
justice minister, who is tasked with relations with the ICC.
The man was thus released on Tuesday evening and reportedly
repatriated to Tripoli on a secret services flight for reasons
of urgency and security, given the dangerousness of the man and
the risks involved in transporting him on a regular airline.
After landing, he was welcomed in triumph by dozens of his
supporters, who are seen celebrating in videos circulating on
Libyan social media.
(Picture shows Libyan general Njeem Osama Almasri Habish in an
undated photo published on the platform fawaselmedia.com.
ANSA/COURTESY FAWASELMEDIA.COM) (ANSAmed).
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