"Nordio must resign," opposition leaders take office following revelations about the Almasri case.

The opposition has been harshly criticized following revelations by Corriere della Sera and Repubblica , reported by Unità on May 31, regarding the Almasri case. Almasri is the Libyan general wanted by the Hague Court and arrested on January 19 in Turin but returned to his country on an Italian government plane after Justice Minister Carlo Nordio failed to sign an arrest warrant, despite his cabinet having been immediately informed. For this reason, the Democratic Party, the Green and Left Alliance, Italia Viva, and +Europa have called for the resignation of the Minister of Justice and his staff, starting with Giusi Bartolozzi. Together with the Five Star Movement, they have also called for an urgent briefing to Parliament.

Debora Serracchiani, the Democratic Party's Justice Minister, observed: " A minister who, upon taking office, swore on the Constitution and who allegedly lied in a briefing to Parliament cannot remain in his role for a second longer. Nor can his staff, who are clearly responsible. And this regardless of any alleged crime," she added. " It must also be said that the decision to free the criminal child rapist and escort him back to Libya on a state flight was a deliberate political choice for which the Prime Minister must take responsibility ," the MP concluded. Also calling for the Via Arenula minister to step down was Peppe De Cristofaro , the leader of the AVS Senate group: "We are faced with a truly shocking fact: in the history of our Republic, there are ministers who have resigned for infinitely less serious reasons. Nordio should resign; he shouldn't wait even a minute." "It's proven that Nordio came to the Chamber and lied," Roberto Giachetti (IV) told the Chamber, requesting a briefing from Minister Carlo Nordio. "If he was induced to lie because his chief of staff didn't inform him, at least he should come and show us his chief of staff's resignation letter," or " he should show up here resigning himself and with the chief of staff's resignation as well. This is a disgrace and a political disgrace," the parliamentarian concluded.

Matteo Renzi also pointed the finger at the Prime Minister: " On the Almasri affair, everything is now clear: Giorgia Meloni lied in the video from Palazzo Chigi, Carlo Nordio lied to Parliament . I'm not interested in the legal proceedings or the notice of investigation: I'm concerned about a government that lies to the public and to Parliament. A government that allows itself to be blackmailed by Libyan torturers. A government that allows itself to be humiliated on the international stage, like yesterday in Benghazi ." "For months ," the leader of Iv continued, " I have been saying out loud and with a few courageous people that there was much more to Almasri. And today I confirm that it doesn't end there: Almasri, Paragon, the refusal to answer in Parliament are all signs of a weak and mendacious government. Little by little, the truth is coming. It takes courage, patience, and tenacity. Those who know me know that on these issues I won't give up, even if I were the last one fighting for the truth." According to +Europa Secretary Riccardo Magi , " Nordio knew and lied to Parliament. Now he should resign. The investigation by the Tribunal of Ministers into the Italian government's failure to hand over Libyan General Almasri to the International Criminal Court demonstrates that Italy had plenty of time to correct the procedural error highlighted by the Rome Court of Appeal regarding the Ministry of Justice's failure to hand over the case. And above all, Minister Nordio knew from the start and that he acted for specific political reasons."

"We are dealing with Nordio, a minister of the Republic who lied in front of the chambers of Parliament ," declared Stefano Patuanelli, leader of the Five Star Movement group in the Senate . "There is evidence that he told Parliament he only learned of Almasri's arrest on January 20th, while it emerges that he also knew about it in the days before. At the group leaders' conference, we asked him to report to the Senate. Question time will be tomorrow, but we asked him to stay for a briefing. And if not tomorrow, then another day," concluded the representative of the Senate. Late yesterday afternoon, however, Luca Ciriani, Minister for Relations with Parliament, announced that it would not be possible to hold the briefing today: "The government is evaluating the situation. We need time to prepare it."

FROM

Angela Stella