Italy says it freed Libyan officer because of errors in ICC warrant

By Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's justice minister said on Wednesday Rome had no choice but to free a Libyan military officer wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court because of what he described as mistakes and inaccuracies in the court's arrest warrant.

Osama Elmasry Njeem was released and flown home to Tripoli two days after being detained last month in northern Italy on the back of the ICC warrant which said he was suspected of the murder, torture and rape of detainees in Libya.

His release sparked outrage among Italian opposition parties and triggered a legal investigation into Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, two of her ministers and a cabinet undersecretary.

One of those under investigation, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, told parliament the warrant had been "marked by inaccuracies, omissions, discrepancies and contradictory conclusions".

Representatives of the court and its prosecutor did not immediately respond to requests for a reaction to the comments.

Nordio said there was "uncertainty" in the warrant over when Njeem was suspected of committing the alleged crimes, saying the document suggested they had started in February 2011 and later referred to February 2015.

"It is my intention ... to ask the ICC for justification of the inconsistencies," Nordio said, adding that the Court had realised it had made "a huge, hasty mess" and corrected the document a few days after it was first issued.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who also addressed the house, reiterated that a decision to expel Njeem following his release was because he was viewed as dangerous.

He denied suggestions from the opposition that Njeem had worked with Italy to help control migrant flows from Libya, or that Rome had faced external pressure to free him.

The ICC, which has been investigating allegations of serious crimes committed in Libya since the country's 2011 civil war, has demanded an explanation over why Njeem was freed, saying Rome let him go without any consultation.

Opposition leaders rejected the explanations provided by the justice and interior ministers and demanded that Meloni come in person to explain her government's decision.

"The international credibility of Italy has been tarnished by your decision to release a Libyan torturer," said Elly Schlein, head of main opposition group the Democratic Party.

Rome's chief prosecutor, Francesco Le Voi, said last week that Meloni, Nordio, Piantedosi and the cabinet undersecretary for intelligence matters, Alfredo Mantovano, were under investigation over allegations they aided and abetted a crime and misused public funds.

All four have denied the suggestion and accused Le Voi of politicising the case. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt, nor mean that formal charges will necessarily follow.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Additional reporting by Stephanie Van Den Berg in Amsterdam; Editing by Crispian Balmer)