The Giulio Regeni case has ended with three Egyptian security officials convicted by a Rome court over the kidnapping of the Italian student whose tortured body was found near Cairo in 2016. The men were tried in absentia and each received a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated kidnapping.
A fourth Egyptian defendant was acquitted. All four had denied the charges brought against them in connection with Regeni’s disappearance and death.
The Rome court’s verdict marks a major development in a case that has remained a source of tension between Italy and Egypt for almost a decade. Regeni, 28, was studying for a doctorate at Cambridge University when he disappeared during a research trip to Egypt.
Giulio Regeni Case Reaches Major Rome Verdict
Regeni was abducted on 25 January 2016 while researching independent trade unions in Egypt for his PhD. His research focused on a politically controversial subject in the country, according to the information presented in the case.
Days after his disappearance, his mutilated body was discovered in a ditch near Cairo. An autopsy found that he had been tortured, while prosecutors later said his injuries were consistent with repeated beatings using “kicks, fists, sticks and clubs”.
Prosecutors said Regeni died from a broken neck. His mother, speaking to the Italian parliament in 2018, said her son’s body had been so badly disfigured that she could identify him only by the tip of his nose.
Egyptian Security Officials Denied Involvement
The Giulio Regeni case was initially investigated jointly by Italian and Egyptian prosecutors, but the two sides eventually reached different conclusions about what happened to the student.
Egyptian authorities blamed criminal gangsters for Regeni’s murder and offered several other possible explanations for his death, including a car accident, a failed drug deal and a botched robbery. They also rejected allegations that the Egyptian state was involved in his disappearance or death.
Italian prosecutors, however, concluded that Egypt’s national security agency had played a role in the crime. The four defendants were identified as Gen Tariq Sabir, Col Usham Helmi, Col Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim and Maj Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif.
Sabir was the defendant acquitted by the Rome court, while the other three were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Regeni Family Welcomes Rome Court Verdict
The verdict was welcomed by Rome’s chief prosecutor and by the lawyer representing Regeni’s family, who have spent years campaigning for accountability.
“From today, people around the world can feel safer,” family lawyer Alessandra Ballerini said. “Impunity can be defeated and democracies can place limits on arbitrary power.”
Regeni’s parents, Claudio and Paola Regeni, and his sister Irene Regeni were among those present in court for the verdict. Family members and supporters wore yellow shirts and badges, reflecting the colour adopted by their campaign for justice.
The Rome court verdict followed years of legal efforts by Italy to bring the Egyptian security officials to trial. The proceedings were initially scheduled to begin in 2021 but were suspended after prosecutors were unable to locate the defendants and formally notify them of the charges.
Giulio Regeni Murder Trial Could Affect Italy-Egypt Relations
In September 2023, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that the trial could proceed despite the difficulties in locating the defendants. The case was subsequently heard without the accused men being present.
The convictions do not automatically mean the defendants will serve their sentences, as extradition to Italy remains unlikely. However, the outcome of the Giulio Regeni case could create renewed diplomatic tensions between Italy and Egypt.
For Regeni’s family, the verdict represents the latest stage in a decade-long campaign to establish responsibility for the kidnapping, torture and death of the Cambridge University student.