Almasri case: Council denies authorisation for trial of Mantovano, Nordio and Piantedosi

Rome, 30 September. (LaPresse) – The Chamber of Deputies’ Authorisation Committee voted against the text presented by rapporteur Federico Gianassi (PD), which proposed to give the green light to the authorisation requested by the Court of Ministers to proceed against the Undersecretary to the Prime Minister, Alfredo Mantovano, and the Ministers of Justice and the Interior, Carlo Nordio and Matteo Piantedosi, in the Almasri case. Following the rejection of Gianassi’s report, Pietro Pittalis of Forza Italia was appointed rapporteur. His report, which opposes granting authorisation to proceed for the members of the government involved in the investigation, will be voted on in the Chamber of Deputies on 9 October. Osama Njeem Almasri was arrested on 19 January in Turin and repatriated to Libya two days later despite an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes hanging over him. The ICC prosecutor accuses the Italian government of failing to fulfil its obligations, preventing international justice from taking action. For this reason, the Court of Ministers is seeking authorisation to proceed against Mantovano, Nordio and Piantedosi, alleging various offences including omission of official acts, aiding and abetting, and embezzlement.