Almasri is wanted by ICC for alleged war crimes.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has said that she is under investigation in relation to Italy's release of a Libyan police chief accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In a video posted on X on Tuesday, Meloni said she is suspected of "aiding and abetting a crime and embezzlement" in connection with the case of Osama Najim - also called Almasri - Libya’s chief of judicial police and director of a notorious detention centre in Mitiga.

"I am not blackmailable, I am not intimidated", Meloni said in the video post, noting that interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, justice minister Carlo Nordio, and cabinet undersecretary with the national security brief Alfredo Mantovano have also been placed under investigation.

Almasri was arrested in Turin on 21 January, on a warrant issued by the Hague-based ICC, but was released on a technicality and swiftly repratiated to Tripoli on an Italian state plane.

The ICC has demanded an explanation over Italy's unexpected release of Almasri who it accuses of war crimes and crimes against humanity including torture, rape and murder.

Vale oggi quello che valeva ieri: non sono ricattabile e non mi faccio intimidire. Avanti a testa alta! pic.twitter.com/Urg0QOis9V

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) January 28, 2025

The repatriation of Almasri came after a Rome court declared the ICC arrest warrant “irregular” as it had not been preceded by discussions with justice minister Nordio.

Interior minister Piantedosi told the senate last week that Almasri had been expelled because he represented a danger to society, however opposition politicians have linked the Libyan's release to a deal between Rome and Tripoli to stem the flow of migrant crossings to Italy.

In the video she posted on Tuesday, a defiant Meloni made it clear that she considers the investigation a political attack, suggesting the motive might be because she is "unpopular with those who do not want Italy to change and become better".

She stressed that the probe was launched following a complaint by lawyer and "former left-wing politician" Luigi Li Gotti (whose political career began in the same right-wing circles as Meloni), and that the prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi led a separate investigation into deputy premier Matteo Salvini who was acquitted last month.

Meloni - who has received the support of Salvini and fellow deputy premier Antonio Tajani -also said it was "curious" that the ICC issued the warrant for Almasri precisely as he was about to enter Italy after having stayed in three other European states for the previous 12 days.

Photo credit: paparazzza / Shutterstock.com.