A historic first verdict after more than ten years, but for Giulio Regeni and his family, the road to justice is still long, and the road to truth is extremely long. The Rome Court of Assizes on Monday sentenced three Egyptian security agents—Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif, Uhsam Helmi, and Athar Kamel Mohamed—to ten years for the kidnapping of the Friulian researcher, while the fourth defendant, General Tariq Sabir, was acquitted. The murder charge against Sharif, however, was dropped. This is a significant ruling from a judicial perspective, but it does not close the case: the three convicted were tried in absentia, are in Egypt, and Cairo has never handed them over to Italian justice.

So what happens now? The public defenders of the three convicted defendants have already announced their intention to appeal the sentence. First, the reasons for the appeal must be filed, expected between the end of December and the beginning of January, after which the lawyers will have approximately thirty days to file their appeal. The defense could also request a new ruling from the Constitutional Court regarding the possibility of appealing a sentence when the defendants are absent and have not granted special power of attorney to their lawyers. This step could further extend the appeal process. According to forecasts, any appeal proceedings may not begin for another two years. The statute of limitations also weighs heavily: for kidnapping, the ordinary statute of limitations would expire in 2028, although suspensions accrued during the proceedings would extend the deadline, potentially to 2030. The Rome Prosecutor's Office will also have to decide whether to appeal the sentence. The magistrates called the verdict a historic result, but are awaiting the reasons for the kidnapping convictions and the acquittal of the fourth defendant and, above all, to determine whether there are grounds for requesting a new trial.

There is also a concrete obstacle: even if the sentence were to become final, the three convicted men are not in Italy, and Egypt has never cooperated in their surrender. Therefore, the conviction does not automatically mean they will serve their sentences in prison. The Italian trial was able to reach a verdict despite the defendants' absence, but the execution of the sentence remains dependent on the possibility of locating them and securing their surrender. The Court also awarded immediately enforceable interim damages: €200,000 each for Giulio's parents, €100,000 for his sister Irene, and €150,000 for the Prime Minister's Office, which has joined the civil action. Here too, it will be necessary to consider the convictions' continued presence in Egypt and the lack of cooperation from the Cairo authorities.

On the diplomatic front, the Meloni government does not appear inclined to sever ties with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. On the contrary, in recent months Rome has continued to consider Cairo a strategic interlocutor on issues such as migration, energy, Libya, the Middle East, and stability in the Mediterranean. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani—who visited Cairo in September to strengthen the partnership between the two countries—emphasized that three people were convicted, not "Egypt" as a state, while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended her decision to keep diplomatic channels open. "We have also used political and diplomatic channels with Cairo," the prime minister explained, adding that closing them would risk distancing Italy from its goal of obtaining justice.

"We finally received truth and justice, on Monday, in a courtroom, from a court that was the only one entitled to recognize them." Meanwhile, Paola and Claudio Regeni stated this in an interview with la Repubblica. "We experience so many different feelings and emotions," they emphasize. "It wasn't easy to fully process and immediately understand the significance of the ruling. " According to Regeni's parents, "in all these years, it certainly can't be said that our country's government supported us in obtaining cooperation from the Egyptian regime. Cooperation that, in fact, never existed." Now, they argue, the Italian government, "after justice has been obtained, despite its previous 'inertia,' has the opportunity to redeem itself, to demonstrate to its citizens, with a real surge of pride, that a country's dignity is non-negotiable, and that our democracy cannot constantly be mocked and cornered by the arrogance of a regime. Even if that regime has energy reserves. As we said after the ruling was read, Italy cannot help but acknowledge the decision of the Assize Court," the Regenis added. "We must claim compensation for damages as requested by the State Attorney's Office and sever ties with a country that is far from safe, so much so that it tortures and kills even citizens of friendly states." Finally, Paola and Claudio ask that the yellow banners dedicated to Giulio not be removed: "We ask everyone to keep their yellow armbands on their wrists, display their banners on their balconies, and continue to create and 'inhabit' the yellow benches, because justice, in a ruling issued in the name of the Italian people, has been written. But now it must be carried out!"

(Unioneonline/D)

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