Controversy over Silvia Romano release threatens the Italian government

Role of Turkey and Qatar in facilitating payments to terrorists laid bare in Rome

Silvia Romano, escorted by Carabinieri officers, arrives at her home wearing the green hijab typical of Somali Muslim women and a surgical mask to guard against Covid-19, in Milan, Italy, Monday, May 11, 2020 APShow less

The Italian government has been forced to pushback over a controversy surrounding ransoms paid for the release of Silvia Romano, an aid worker held hostage by Al Shabab in the Horn of Africa.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s administration in Rome has come under mounting criticism over its handling of the release of Ms Romano, who was freed last week after 18 months in captivity.

In the wake of her return to Italy the government has had to contend with questions over the ransom paid to the  Al Qaeda-linked terror group, reported to be worth millions of euros, as well as an Islamophobic backlash that has faced Ms Romano, a Muslim convert.

The government has repeatedly rebuffed details in the Italian media about the ransom and denied knowledge of payment for Ms Romano’s release.

Francesco Galietti, chief executive of the political risk consultancy Policy Sonar in Rome, told The National the wounds sustained by the government in extensively publicising Ms Romano's return had been self-inflicted.

Mr Galietti explained the government had created a domestic backlash by giving too much exposure to the normally secretive world of hostage negotiations, Ms Romano’s release had hurt Italy’s standing on the international stage.

Silvia Romano, an Italian aid worker who was kidnapped by gunmen in Kenya 18 months ago, waves next to Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio at Ciampino military airport in Rome, Italy, May 10, 2020 Reuters

“Italy has advertised it and this is an embarrassment,” the analyst said explaining details divulged in the Italian press about Turkey and Qatar’s direct involvement in hostage negotiations could be brought to bear on Rome’s diplomatic relationships.

“Italy has always tried to do a balancing exercise in the broader Mediterranean,” Mr Galietti said.

The result is a political storm engulfing the leadership. “You could sense the craving both of the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs to have a photo opportunity with the freed hostage, you could see that they wanted to have the picture,” the Rome-based analyst explained.

“I think the wounds will be very, very hard to heal,” he added.

Tempers reached boiling point in Italian parliament over the issue on Wednesday. Allesandro Pagano of the far-right anti-immigrant Lega party said Mr Conte and and his Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio were motivated to embrace Ms Romano more than Italy's emergency workers and referred to the former hostage as a “neo-terrorist”. The right-wing politician was shouted down and reprimanded for the comments and has subsequently apologised.

In a statement on Facebook, Mr Pagano expressed solidarity with Ms Romano and said he was criticising the Italian government, rather than the kidnapping victim, because it had delivered a propaganda victory to the Somali-based extremists.

Ms Romano’s return to Italy has provoked a wave of Islamophobic hate speech and a hate campaign against her from the country’s far-right.  She returned to Italy wearing the green hijab typical of Somali Muslim women, and told prosecutors she had freely converted during her ordeal.

According to the Italian press, an investigation has been launched by authorities in Milan, where Ms Romano is staying, over threats against her. Police have collected evidence after several glass bottles were thrown at the apartment building where she resides in Palazzo al Casoretto on the outskirts of the city.

Ms Romano has publicly asked for tempers to cool in Italy. "The worst for me is over, let's enjoy this moment together," she wrote to friends on a closed Facebook account, according to Italy’s Ansa news agency.

The former aid worker said she was happy to be able to embrace her family and friends and thanked "all those friends, known and unknown, who dedicated a thought to me".