Giusi Bartolozzi, the Chief of Cabinet at the Ministry of Justice, has been formally registered as a suspect by the Rome prosecutor’s office. The investigation is part of the proceedings concerning the case of Osama Njeem Almasri, the Libyan commander who was arrested and subsequently repatriated from Italy this past January.
This development follows last month’s move by the Ministers’ Tribunal, which sent a request to the Chamber of Deputies seeking authorization to proceed with investigations against Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, and Justice Minister Carlo Nordio for the same matter.
The prosecutor’s office is reportedly investigating the crime under article 371 bis of the Italian Penal Code. This statute penalizes any individual who, during criminal proceedings, makes false statements or withholds information when questioned by a public prosecutor or the International Criminal Court. The offense carries a potential prison sentence of up to four years.
According to testimony and court documents, Bartolozzi is alleged to have played a significant role in managing the dossier. This began with the receipt of Almasri’s arrest warrant from The Hague and involved coordinating subsequent communications within the ministry between January 19th, the date of the Libyan general’s arrest, and January 21st, the date of his repatriation.