The UN Support Mission in Libya called on the Tripoli authorities Saturday to detain a war crimes suspect who was sent home by Italy despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Italy’s release of the wanted Libyan police chief has drawn vehement criticism from opposition parties and a veiled rebuke from the ICC, which on Wednesday reminded its member state that it had a “duty” to “cooperate fully” in the court’s investigations and prosecutions.
The head of the Libyan judicial police, Osama Najim, is wanted on charges including murder, rape and sexual violence and torture, committed since 2015 in his role as head of Tripoli’s Mitiga detention centre.
“UNSMIL is alarmed by the gravity of the crimes listed in the ICC arrest warrant… which include crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence,” the UN mission said.
“As the accused was sent back to Libya, we call on Libyan authorities to arrest him and initiate an investigation into these crimes with a view to ensuring full accountability, or to transfer him to the ICC, consistent with the (UN) Security Council referral of the Libyan situation to the ICC.”
Najim was arrested in the Italian city of Turin last weekend but returned to Tripoli on Tuesday on an Italian air force plane after the court of appeals in Rome ruled his detention “irregular” because the ICC warrant had not been passed on by the justice minister.
Najim received a hero’s welcome in the Libyan capital, footage posted on social media showed.
Analysts say he is also a leading figure in the powerful Radaa militia.
Rome’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi defended the decision to fly Najim home, saying he had been repatriated for “urgent security reasons”.
Opposition Democratic Party senator Sandra Zampa called the affair “shameful”, saying “procedural errors have nothing to do with it”.
International human rights groups have long condemned abuses in Libyan detention centres, citing widespread violence and torture.
Under a deal with the North African country dating from 2017 and renewed under Italy’s current hard-right government, Rome was to provide funding and training to the Libyan coastguard.
In exchange, Libya was expected to help stem the departure of migrants to Italy or return those already at sea back to Libya, where they were often taken to such detention centres.
In 2011, the UN Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC for investigation, a few months before a revolt toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi after four decades of iron-fisted rule.
Najim’s arrest and release came about a week after Rome and Tripoli resumed direct flights between the two capitals after a decade-long hiatus.
Italy’s foreign ministry hailed the “concerted effort” shown by Rome to strengthen ties with its former colony, calling Libya “a strategic and privileged partner for our country”.
