The Italian newspaper "La Stampa" reported on Wednesday that a procedural error was behind the release of Osama Najim, the head of the judicial police and director of the Tripoli Correctional and Rehabilitation Institution, known as “Al-Jadida Prison.”
According to the newspaper, the Court of Appeal in Rome did not approve the validity of the arrest due to the lack of prior communication with the Ministry of Justice before the arrest of the Libyan security official.
Najim was arrested last Sunday in Turin under a warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of committing crimes against humanity, including rape and murder, in addition to using detained migrants in a “form of slavery.”
Najim arrived in Italy after entering the European Union via Germany, where he was on his way to attend a football match in Turin last Sunday, according to Libyan media.
The Libyan judicial police condemned Najim’s arrest, describing the event on Facebook as “shameful.”
Hours after his release, Najim arrived Tuesday night on a passenger plane at Mitiga Airport coming from the Italian city of Turin. Social media pages circulated a video clip said to be the moment Najim landed in Tripoli. The Ain Zara Reform and Rehabilitation Institution's Facebook page also confirmed the news of Najim's arrival in Tripoli.
It is noteworthy that in 2021, Najim was appointed director of the Reform and Rehabilitation Institution in Tripoli, and in this position he supervised prisons, including Mitiga, Al-Jadida and Ain Zara prisons, which are officially under the control of the Judicial Police.