In Tripoli

Almasri arrested in Libya, accused of torture on detainees

The general had been repatriated to Libya after an unexecuted Italian arrest last January

by Lorenzo Pace

5 November 2025

Il video che mostrerebbe Almasri picchiare (uccidere?) nelle strade di Tripoli

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Libyan Prosecutor General's Office has ordered the arrest of Osama Njeem Almasri. According to local media reports, pre-trial detention and remand was ordered against him on charges of torture of detainees and the death of one of them during interrogation.

The investigation by the Libyan authorities focuses on alleged abuses committed during the time he held command positions in military prisons in Tripoli.

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The Italian case

Last January, Almasri was arrested in Turin following an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

From there, the case involved the Italian government. Despite the request of the International Criminal Court, the Ministry of Justice did not proceed with the extradition procedure.

Almasri was thus repatriated to Libya on board a flight organised by the Italian intelligence services, officially for security reasons and as part of cooperation agreements with the Tripoli authorities.

At the end of the month, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that she had been entered in the register of suspects and had received a notice of indictment from the public prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi 'for the offences of aiding and abetting and embezzlement in relation to the matter of the repatriation of citizen Almasri'.

The same warning was received by the ministers Carlo Nordio and Matteo Piantedosi and the undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano. In addition, the Guardasigilli was also charged with dereliction of duty, while the other two were charged with conspiracy to commit embezzlement.

The latest updates

In August, Meloni's position was dismissed by the Court of Ministers, while in October, the majority of the Chamber of Deputies voted in plenary against the authorisation to proceed against ministers Carlo Nordio and Matteo Piantedosi and the undersecretary to the presidency Alfredo Mantovano.