The vote revealed some unexpected outcomes: 251 deputies voted against proceeding for Nordio and Mantovano, and 256 against Piantedosi—numbers exceeding the government majority, indicating that some opposition members also opposed the authorization.
After the vote, Nordio criticized the Tribunal of Ministers, accusing it of having “torn apart the most basic norms of law.” He also expressed hope that the investigation concerning his chief of staff, Giusi Bartolozzi, who is under investigation for false statements in the same case, “will conclude in a similar manner.”
Nordio further remarked that the results exceeded the majority’s expectations, noting “a certain reluctance among opposition members to delegate to the judiciary issues that remain essentially political.” He argued that the immediate launch of a criminal investigation had limited the government’s ability to defend itself in Parliament due to secrecy restrictions.
The National Magistrates Association (ANM) responded swiftly, condemning the minister’s remarks as “an unrestrained attack” on the judges and emphasizing that the judiciary “was merely fulfilling its official duty in full compliance with the Constitution.”
Francesco Romeo, lawyer for Lam Magok Biel Ruei, a victim and witness of torture inflicted by General Almasri, announced plans to request that the Tribunal of Ministers raise a constitutional conflict before the Constitutional Court. Romeo criticized the parliamentary vote as “violating the Constitution and principles of international law,” arguing that “in a rule-of-law state, no government official should enjoy zones of impunity.”