An Italian court convicted three Egyptian security officials in absentia on Monday for the kidnapping of Giulio Regeni, a doctoral student whose tortured body was discovered near Cairo in 2016. Maj. Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif, Col. Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim, and Col. Uhsam Helmi each received 10-year prison sentences and were ordered to pay damages to Regeni’s family and court fees. Major Sharif, who was the only defendant charged with killing Regeni, was acquitted of the murder charge. A fourth official, Gen. Tariq Sabir, was fully acquitted.
The Egyptian government did not comment on the verdict. Egyptian prosecutors have previously dismissed the Italian case as lacking solid evidence. The convicted officials were not present for the trial and their current whereabouts remain unknown.
Regeni, a Cambridge University graduate student, had been researching informal labor movements in Cairo. He disappeared on January 25, 2016, amid a large deployment of Egyptian security forces ahead of demonstrations marking the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that removed President Hosni Mubarak. Nine days later, his body was found, showing extensive signs of torture.
An autopsy conducted in Italy revealed that Regeni had been beaten, burned, stabbed, flogged on his feet, and ultimately died from a snapped neck over a period of four days. Italian authorities have long suspected involvement by Egyptian security services, citing the brutality consistent with previous patterns of detainee abuse, although Egypt denied responsibility and suggested criminal gangs were to blame.
The case severely strained relations between Italy and Egypt and led to widespread calls for justice, including public displays demanding “Truth for Giulio Regeni” throughout Italy. Italian investigators faced significant obstacles cooperating with Egyptian authorities, whose assistance was described by Rome’s chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi as “not especially fruitful.” Egyptian lawyers for some defendants argued that Egypt had cooperated by providing necessary documentation.
The trial began in February 2024 after years of legal uncertainty partly due to the defendants never being formally notified or appearing in court, which defense lawyers contend violated their clients’ rights and infringed on fair trial standards. Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2023 that the trial could proceed in absentia given the extensive media coverage ensuring the defendants’ awareness of the charges.
The proceedings relied on evidence gathered in Cairo, including video footage and cellphone data linked to the time and location of Regeni’s abduction. Defense attorneys criticized the trial for its failure to allow their clients’ testimonies or witnesses, as well as questioning jurisdiction and procedural fairness. “There has been a serious violation of the right to a defense,” said Paola Armellin, attorney for General Sabir, calling the trial a “miscarriage of justice.”
Appealing the convictions could prove difficult since the defendants must initiate the process. Meanwhile, Regeni’s family welcomed the verdict, with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini stating the ruling sends a message that “people’s dignity is inviolable” and that justice can prevail despite authoritarian obstacles.