Latest news with #OsamaNjeem
Libya Observer
2 days ago
- Politics
- Libya Observer
Italian Media: Njeem's aide 'Al-Buti' in German custody
German authorities have arrested Khaled Al-Haishri, known as 'Al-Buti,' the aide to Osama Njeem, head of the Judicial Police Authority, who was wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Al-Buti had been under investigation by the ICC. The report noted that German authorities are currently considering submitting a formal extradition request to the ICC. Al-Buti is considered one of the prominent leaders of the so-called 'Rapid Intervention Force,' which had control over the 'Judicial Police Authority' under Njeem's command. He is also implicated in a series of crimes committed inside prisons run by the authority, according to a 2021 report by the UN Panel of Experts. The Italian newspaper added that the armed groups associated with Njeem—the Judicial Police and the Special Deterrence Force (Radaa)—are currently in a state of disintegration in Libya, though it did not provide further details. The arrest comes just weeks after the Libyan Attorney General's Office announced the initiation of public proceedings against Osama Njeem, under national jurisdiction, following the lifting of procedural immunity by the Ministry of Justice. A statement from the Attorney General explained that the legal procedures began with an examination of the crimes listed in the ICC arrest warrant for Anjem and a comparison with cases previously reviewed by the Libyan judiciary. Tags: International Criminal Court Crimes Against Humanity osama Najim
Libya Observer
6 days ago
- Politics
- Libya Observer
GNU rejects surrendering Osama Njeem to the ICC
The Government of National Unity (GNU) has announced its refusal to surrender Osama Njeem, a senior official in the Judicial Police Authority, to the International Criminal Court (ICC), stating that the court has not provided the Libyan side with 'evidence to substantiate the alleged incidents.' The government emphasized that the national judiciary is capable of handling such cases. In a statement issued Sunday, the Ministry of Justice under the GUN said it had lifted the procedural restriction on Officer Osama Njeem; a serving member of the Judicial Police affiliated with the ministry. The move, the ministry said, was made in accordance with national law and jurisdictional rules, based on a request from the Attorney General. The ministry published the request for lifting the restriction on its Facebook page, stamped by the Attorney General's Office, confirming that Njeem had appeared for questioning on April 24. The Ministry of Justice said that 'the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has not, to date, submitted any evidence to Libya's Public Prosecution related to the alleged charges, and the ministry has not received any formal correspondence.' The ministry further pointed out that 'Libya has neither signed nor ratified the Rome Statute (the treaty establishing the ICC). Therefore, no Libyan citizen will be handed over outside the jurisdiction of Libyan territory, and the national judiciary is fully competent to consider such cases.' On January 18, Osama Njeem was detained by authorities in the Italian city of Turin under an ICC arrest warrant. However, he was released two days later and returned to Libya due to a procedural flaw in the international request — a move that drew strong domestic and international criticism. On May 18, the ICC published the arrest warrant issued by its Prosecutor against Njeem, listing 12 charges, including murder and rape. Njeem, who was reportedly in charge of prisons in Tripoli where thousands of individuals were detained for extended periods, is suspected of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes at Mitiga Prison starting in February 2015. The charges include premeditated murder, torture, rape, sexual violence, degrading treatment, cruel treatment, unlawful imprisonment, and persecution, according to the arrest warrant.
