An investigation has been launched into Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she repatriated a Libyan warlord wanted on an international arrest warrant, she said on Tuesday.
Ossama Anjem, also known as Ossama al Masri, was arrested in Turin on 19 January but was freed and put on a repatriation flight days later.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Libya‘s Mitiga prison from 2015 onwards.
ICC prosecutors have accused him of murder, torture, rape, and sexual violence.
Ms Meloni has come under fire for releasing al Masri on what’s been termed a technicality,
In a video on social media, she claimed the arrest warrant had not been properly communicated with the Italian justice ministry, as is required by law.
She claims the ICC issued the warrant after al Masri had been in three other European countries for around 12 days.
Ms Meloni sanctioned his repatriation on a government plane on 21 January.
“At this point, this subject was free in Italian territory, and rather than letting him free, we decided to expel and repatriate him immediately for security reasons with a flight, as happens in other similar cases,” she said in the video.
She added that she “cannot be blackmailed” and “will not be intimidated”.
Her justice minister Carlo Nordio, interior minister Matte Piantedosi, and undersecretary Alfredo Mantovani are also part of the investigation.
Image: Italian justice minister Carlo Nordio addresses the Senate.
Pic: LaPresse/AP
Ms Meloni claims the probe was sparked by a complaint from a member of the opposition.
In Italy, prosecutors are obliged to investigate all complaints – and it is then up to the preliminary hearing judge whether a case is filed or not.
Interior minister Mr Piantedosi will face questions on the matter in parliament on Wednesday.
He told the senate last week al Masri was repatriated “for urgent security reasons, with my expulsion order, in view of the danger posed by the subject”.
Al Masri is the head of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution in Tripoli – a network of notorious detention centres run by the government-backed Special Deterrence Forces (SDF).
Like other militias in Libya, the SDF has been implicated in atrocities committed in the country since Muammar Gaddafi’s death in 2011.
Passengers have been evacuated from Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 as a “precautionary measure”.
Flights could be “temporarily impacted”, the airport said in a statement.
It did not give any details about the reason for the evacuation but said “the safety and security of our passengers and staff is our absolute priority”.
“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest updates,” the airport added, saying further information would be provided as soon as it is available.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
At least 70 people have been killed after a paramilitary drone attack on a mosque in Sudan.
The Sudanese army and aid workers said the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out the attack during Friday prayers in the North Darfur region.
The attack took place in the besieged city of Al Fasher and was said to have completely destroyed the mosque.
With bodies still buried under the rubble, the number of deaths is likely to rise, a worker with the local aid group Emergency Response Rooms said.
The worker spoke anonymously, fearing retaliation from the RSF.
Further details of the attack were difficult to ascertain because it took place in an area where many international and charitable organisations have already pulled out because of the violence.
In a statement, Sudan’s army said it was mourning the victims of the attack.
It said: “Targeting civilians unjustly is the motto of this rebel militia, and it continues to do so in full view of the entire world.”
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The Sudan war started in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the RSF broke out in Khartoum.
The US special envoy to Sudan estimates that 150,000 people have been killed, but the exact figure is unknown. Close to 12 million people have been displaced.
Several mediation attempts have failed to secure a humanitarian access mechanism or any lulls in fighting.
The Resistance Committees in El Fasher, a group of local activists who track abuses, posted a video on Friday claiming to show parts of the mosque reduced to rubble with several scattered bodies.
The Darfur Victims Support Organisation, which monitors abuses against civilians, said the attack happened at a mosque on the Daraga al Oula street at around 5am local time, citing witnesses.
The attack is the latest in a series of heavy clashes in the past week of between the two sides in Al Fasher.
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Image: Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
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According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Image: Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Image: Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Image: Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.