Libyan warlord Osama Al-Masri Njeem, controversially released from jail by Italian authorities in January, was arrested Wednesday in Tripoli on charges of torture and violence against prisoners.
“As sufficient evidence was established to support the charges, the Public Prosecutor has referred the accused to trial, while he remains in pre-trial detention pending judgment,” the Attorney General Office of the State of Libya said in a statement.
It added that investigations into Al-Masri uncovered “violations of the rights of inmates at the main Tripoli Reform and Rehabilitation Institution,” including the torture of at least 10 detainees and “the death of one inmate as a result of torture.”
Al-Masri, long known as a key figure at Libya’s Mitiga prison, was previously arrested in Turin on Jan. 19 after attending a Juventus football match, following an International Criminal Court arrest warrant accusing him of war crimes, torture, murder and sexual violence.
Despite those charges, Italy released him after 48 hours, a move that sparked outrage in Rome and prompted the Court of Ministers to open an investigation into Justice Minister Carlo Nordio, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano over allegations they facilitated Al-Masri’s return to Libya.
The inquiry was ultimately dismissed by Italy’s lower house of parliament, where the government holds a majority, in early October.
Government critics accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration of returning Al-Masri to Libya to protect Italian energy interests and prevent potential retaliation, including threats to curb cooperation on migration control.
The Italian government, for its part, defended the decision as a matter of legal procedure and national security.
On Nov. 2, Rome and Tripoli renewed for three more years the controversial Italy-Libya Memorandum of Understanding, a deal in which the Libyan coastguard would block the departure of migrants from the African continent.
Hannah Roberts contributed to this report.
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