Displaying items by tag: Giorgia Meloni

Giorgia Meloni has revealed she is under judicial investigation after her government released Libyan police officer Osama Elmasry Njeem, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, and rape. Njeem, detained earlier this month in Turin, was unexpectedly repatriated to Libya on an Italian aircraft two days after his arrest. The ICC has demanded an explanation, stating it was not consulted. Meloni, who now faces allegations of aiding a crime and misuse of public funds, has denied wrongdoing. Njeem is linked to Libya’s Special Defence Force (SDF), operating notorious detention centres implicated in atrocities during Libya’s post-Gaddafi civil war. His release has strained Rome’s relations with the ICC, which has recently expanded investigations into crimes in Libya. Opposition leaders are demanding further explanations in parliament.

Giorgia Meloni, the favourite to become Italy’s next prime minister, has a passion for fantasy author Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. She regards the legends of the rings of power as much more than fantasy. They inspire her worldview and politics. When she was elected to cabinet in 2008 she vowed not to be corrupted by the ‘ring of power’. Later she posed for a magazine profile next to a statue of Gandalf, Tolkien’s bearded wizard. The hobbits’ attachment to their pristine Shire has been regarded as a rallying call for nationalism and rejection of modernism by generations of post-fascist youths. Although Meloni resents being linked to Italy's fascist past, her Brothers of Italy party embraces a slogan adopted by the fascists – ‘God, fatherland and family’. See also