This is a new Thread for ONLY International News and Politics
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — Italian officials arrested a man wanted by the International Criminal Court on Tuesday but sent him back to Libya rather than to The Hague, citing irregularities with the warrant.
Ossama Anjiem, who runs a military detention center in Tripoli, was wanted by the court in connection with human rights abuses in the prison, but a court in Turin declined to approve the arrest.
The warrant for Anjiem was under seal but the Italian Justice Ministry said in a statement the request for his arrest came from the court via Interpol. Anjiem was in Italy to watch a soccer match.
Libya is not a member of the ICC, but in 2011 the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to the court. The same year, widespread conflict broke out in the country as rebel forces tried to oust longtime ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power.
Gaddafi was captured and killed, bringing the worst of the violence to an end, but conflict erupted again in 2014 and the country has continued to face significant political and humanitarian crises.
In October, the court unsealed six warrants for Libyans. The men were supposedly members of a brutal militia who controlled the western city of Tarhunah for nearly five years. Investigators found mass graves after the militia withdrew from the city in 2020.
In his update last year, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan told the security council his office had been investigating crimes at detention facilities since 2014.
“We are also moving at speed in relation to investigations into detention facility crimes, crimes relating to the 2014 to 2020 period. And I confirm, and can alert the council with respect, that we anticipate that in the next reporting period, there will be further applications for the warrants for the arrest of individuals relating to these inquiries,” Khan said, speaking from Tripoli.
The court has declined to comment on Anjiem’s arrest.
ICC member states, including Italy, are obliged to arrest suspects wanted by the court in their jurisdiction. Many countries have refused to execute warrants out of fear of political retaliation. Mongolia gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a warm welcome last year, despite a warrant for his arrest for crimes committed in Ukraine.
Human rights groups claim Italy sent Anjiem back to Libya to avoid scrutiny over its deal with the country to prevent migrants traveling to Italy to claim asylum. According to Mediterranea Saving Humans, an organization that carries out rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is complicit in the mistreatment of migrants by Libyan officials.
Anjiem “was protected by the Italian government and they even accompanied him home, right to Mitiga, where the concentration camp whose horror we know is located, and upon his arrival, this criminal even celebrated, welcomed by his accomplices, and under the eyes of the officials of the Italian secret services,” the group said in a statement.
Thousands have died in the dangerous crossing and many more have been sent back to Libya where they are kept in camps in inhumane conditions with EU taxpayers footing the bill.
No USA centric posts
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — Italian officials arrested a man wanted by the International Criminal Court on Tuesday but sent him back to Libya rather than to The Hague, citing irregularities with the warrant.
Ossama Anjiem, who runs a military detention center in Tripoli, was wanted by the court in connection with human rights abuses in the prison, but a court in Turin declined to approve the arrest.
The warrant for Anjiem was under seal but the Italian Justice Ministry said in a statement the request for his arrest came from the court via Interpol. Anjiem was in Italy to watch a soccer match.
Libya is not a member of the ICC, but in 2011 the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to the court. The same year, widespread conflict broke out in the country as rebel forces tried to oust longtime ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power.
Gaddafi was captured and killed, bringing the worst of the violence to an end, but conflict erupted again in 2014 and the country has continued to face significant political and humanitarian crises.
In October, the court unsealed six warrants for Libyans. The men were supposedly members of a brutal militia who controlled the western city of Tarhunah for nearly five years. Investigators found mass graves after the militia withdrew from the city in 2020.
In his update last year, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan told the security council his office had been investigating crimes at detention facilities since 2014.
“We are also moving at speed in relation to investigations into detention facility crimes, crimes relating to the 2014 to 2020 period. And I confirm, and can alert the council with respect, that we anticipate that in the next reporting period, there will be further applications for the warrants for the arrest of individuals relating to these inquiries,” Khan said, speaking from Tripoli.
The court has declined to comment on Anjiem’s arrest.
ICC member states, including Italy, are obliged to arrest suspects wanted by the court in their jurisdiction. Many countries have refused to execute warrants out of fear of political retaliation. Mongolia gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a warm welcome last year, despite a warrant for his arrest for crimes committed in Ukraine.
Human rights groups claim Italy sent Anjiem back to Libya to avoid scrutiny over its deal with the country to prevent migrants traveling to Italy to claim asylum. According to Mediterranea Saving Humans, an organization that carries out rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is complicit in the mistreatment of migrants by Libyan officials.
Anjiem “was protected by the Italian government and they even accompanied him home, right to Mitiga, where the concentration camp whose horror we know is located, and upon his arrival, this criminal even celebrated, welcomed by his accomplices, and under the eyes of the officials of the Italian secret services,” the group said in a statement.
Thousands have died in the dangerous crossing and many more have been sent back to Libya where they are kept in camps in inhumane conditions with EU taxpayers footing the bill.
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