Rome, June 22 (LaPresse) – “The Tripoli court has sentenced Almasri to 7 years and 4 months for ‘violations of detainees’ rights’. The Italian right is celebrating, saying the government was right and that justice has taken its course. Unfortunately, this is misleading. Almasri was wanted by the International Criminal Court. Italy arrested him in Turin in January 2025 and repatriated him on a state flight two days later. Now Tripoli is judging him for a residual part of the charges, in a trial under the control of the same authorities that give political legitimacy to the Libyan system of detention camps.” This is stated by Sea-Watch in a note. Giorgia Linardi, spokesperson for the civil rescue organization in the Mediterranean, stresses: “The conviction of Almasri in Libya does not erase Italy’s responsibilities. The International Criminal Court was seeking him on more than ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Italian government effectively removed an international criminal from international justice. Italy did not hand him over to Libyan justice; it set him free. The arrest and subsequent conviction in Libya happened later and independently of the Italian decision.” “Certainly,” Linardi concludes, “the victims and survivors, many of whom are now refugees in Europe, cannot say they have found justice in Europe for the atrocities they suffered.” The NGO concludes: “Moreover, before international judges, Almasri could have spoken about the system financed by Italy, the flows, and European and Italian complicity. This trial will probably never happen. This is not a coincidence.”
Almasri case, Sea-Watch: “Conviction in Libya does not absolve Italy”
Rome, June 22 (LaPresse) – “The Tripoli court has sentenced Almasri to 7 years and 4 months for ‘violations of detainees’ rights’. The Italian right is celebrating, saying the government was right and that justice has taken its course. Unfortunately, this is misleading. Almasri was wanted by the International Criminal Court. Italy arrested him in Turin in January 2025 and repatriated him on a state flight two days later. Now Tripoli is judging him for a residual part of the charges, in a trial under the control of the same authorities that give political legitimacy to the Libyan system of detention camps.” This is stated by Sea-Watch in a note. Giorgia Linardi, spokesperson for the civil rescue organization in the Mediterranean, stresses: “The conviction of Almasri in Libya does not erase Italy’s responsibilities. The International Criminal Court was seeking him on more than ten counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Italian government effectively removed an international criminal from international justice. Italy did not hand him over to Libyan justice; it set him free. The arrest and subsequent conviction in Libya happened later and independently of the Italian decision.” “Certainly,” Linardi concludes, “the victims and survivors, many of whom are now refugees in Europe, cannot say they have found justice in Europe for the atrocities they suffered.” The NGO concludes: “Moreover, before international judges, Almasri could have spoken about the system financed by Italy, the flows, and European and Italian complicity. This trial will probably never happen. This is not a coincidence.”
