Italy’s failure to cooperate with the ICC in the Almasri case under review by the European Court of Human Rights
Strasbourg, 29 May 2026
By a decision dated 13 May 2026 and published on 29 May 2026, the President of the First Section of the European Court of Human Rights communicated applications nos. 13270/25, Y v. Italy, and 7051/26, Z v. Italy, to the Italian Government, thereby opening the written phase of the proceedings pursuant to Rule 54 § 2(b) of the Rules of Court.
The two applications arise from the failure of the Italian authorities to execute the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) on 17 January 2025 against Osama Elmasry Njeem (alias “Almasri”), former head of the Libyan Judicial Police, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Professor Andrea Saccucci, Associate Tenant at Doughty Street Chambers, is acting as lead counsel in the application Y v. Italy, which was lodged on 16 April 2025 on behalf of a South Sudanese national who had fled South Sudan and was subsequently detained in Libya at the Al-Jadida detention centre and the Mitiga military base, both controlled by Almasri, where he alleges that he suffered serious violations of his right to life and of the prohibition of torture.
On 19 January 2025, Almasri was arrested by the Italian police and placed in pre-trial detention in execution of the ICC arrest warrant. Two days later, however, the Rome Court of Appeal refused to validate his arrest on the grounds that no request had been submitted by the Minister of Justice and ordered his release. The suspect was then immediately repatriated to Libya on a State flight by order of the Minister of the Interior.
Before the Strasbourg Court, the applicant complained that the Italian State had violated its procedural obligations of cooperation under Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”) as a consequence of its failure to surrender Almasri to the ICC and of his repatriation to Libya.
In this regard, the applicant argues that, in cases involving transnational elements, the procedural obligations under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR impose on States a duty to cooperate with foreign authorities or international criminal jurisdictions, such as the ICC, when a request for assistance has been made, in accordance with the relevant instruments (in this case the provisions of the ICC Statute).
On 17 December 2025, the President of the Section granted the applicant’s request for priority treatment of the case pursuant to Rule 41 of the Rules of Court.
On 7 February 2026, a similar application was lodged by an Ivorian national who had fled to Libya while still a minor and who likewise alleges that she was subjected to slavery, torture and sexual abuse in Mitiga prison.
Following a preliminary examination of both applications, the European Court addressed a number of questions to the parties concerning the admissibility and merits of the cases, which will form the focus of the written proceedings. In particular, the Court asks whether, in light of its case-law, Italy has jurisdiction under Article 1 ECHR with respect to the procedural obligations arising under Articles 2, 3 and 4 ECHR; whether the applicants may be regarded as victims of the alleged violations of those rights; whether they have exhausted available domestic remedies; whether their applications concern the same matter already submitted to the ICC; whether the obligations of cooperation arising under Articles 2, 3 and 4 ECHR also apply to relations with the ICC; and whether those obligations were, in the circumstances of the case, violated by the Italian State.
The Court’s decision is highly significant in several respects. It constitutes the first case in which the Strasbourg Court is called upon to rule on the existence and scope of Member States’ obligations to cooperate with the ICC under Articles 2, 3 and 4 ECHR, interpreted in the light of the Rome Statute. The proceedings raise novel and systemic issues concerning the relationship between the Convention-based protection of fundamental rights and the prosecution of international crimes.
