Italian court convicts three Egyptian officials, acquits one in Giulio Regeni case

An Italian court has found three Egyptian security officials guilty and acquitted a fourth over the abduction and killing of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, who was tortured to death in Cairo more than a decade ago.

Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif, who was also charged with aggravated murder and bodily harm. They requested shorter prison terms for Major General Tarek Sabir and Colonels Hisham Helmy and Ather Kamal. All four faced aggravated kidnapping charges.

The verdict, however, handed a sentence of ten years for Major Sharif and Colonels Helmy and Mohamed. Major General Sabir was acquitted. The judges ruled to drop the murder charge and uphold only the charges of kidnapping.

"Few would have bet that we’d make it to trial and then to a verdict," Alessandra Ballerini, the lawyer representing Regeni’s parents, told reporters outside the court on Monday before the ruling.

"This is already a victory, but we are not satisfied. The Egyptian regime did everything in its power to prevent this trial, but this family is resilient."

Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University doctoral researcher, disappeared in Cairo on 25 January 2016 while researching Egypt’s independent trade unions. His body was found on 3 February beside the Cairo-Alexandria road, bearing signs of torture.

His killing strained relations between Italy and Egypt and prompted a years-long campaign by his family for accountability. Egyptian authorities have denied that state officials were involved, while the defendants have not appeared before the Italian court.

An earlier attempt to try the officers was halted over whether they had been formally notified of the proceedings. Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2023 that the case could proceed despite that obstacle, and the trial resumed in February 2024.

The verdict marks the first substantive ruling by an Italian court on the criminal responsibility of the four officers. However, their absence from the proceedings leaves open the question of whether those convicted will serve their prison sentences.