Egyptian Security Officials Convicted in Absentia for Torture and Death of Cambridge Student Giulio Regeni

Three Egyptian security officials have been convicted in absentia by a court in Rome for the aggravated kidnapping of Giulio Regeni, a Cambridge University student who was tortured and killed in Egypt in 2016. The convictions mark a significant development in a case that has strained diplomatic relations between Italy and Egypt for nearly a decade.

Major Magdi Sharif of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, Cairo police investigations chief Colonel Ather Kamal, and police Colonel Hisham Helmy were found guilty by the judge. However, a fourth official, Major General Tarek Sabir, the former head of state security, was acquitted of the same charge. The accusation of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder against Sharif was also dismissed.

Regeni, an Italian-born postgraduate student researching politically sensitive trade unions, disappeared in Cairo on January 25, 2016. His body was found dumped on a motorway a week later, exhibiting signs of severe torture, including a broken neck. An autopsy in Rome confirmed extensive injuries, including broken fingers and toes, and evidence of beating, burning, stabbing, and flogging over several days.

Italian prosecutors contended that Regeni was abducted and tortured by Egyptian security officials due to his research. The Egyptian authorities, however, initially claimed that criminals were responsible for his death, stating that these perpetrators were later killed in a shootout. Egypt has consistently denied any state involvement in Regeni's death.

The trial, which began in 2021, faced delays due to legal challenges in notifying the defendants of the proceedings. Italy made numerous attempts through diplomatic channels to obtain the suspects' addresses but received no response. Italy's highest court eventually ruled that Egypt's lack of cooperation should not prevent the trial from proceeding, asserting that a foreign state's refusal to assist an investigation cannot shield individuals from accountability for torture.

Despite the convictions, it remains unlikely that the found-guilty officials will be extradited to serve their prison terms in Italy. Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Sharif and lengthy sentences for the others. The court also ordered the three convicted men to pay damages to Regeni's family and the Italian state.

Alessandra Ballerini, a lawyer for the Regeni family, hailed the verdict, stating, "From today, people around the world can feel safer. Impunity can be defeated and democracies can place limits on arbitrary power." Rome Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi acknowledged the challenges, noting the "less than wholehearted cooperation from the Egyptian authorities" and indicated a review of the ruling for a potential appeal.

One witness, an Egyptian citizen who testified anonymously in 2024, recounted his own arrest on the same day as Regeni and his subsequent encounter with the student at a Cairo police station. This witness described being placed in a car with Regeni, both blindfolded, and hearing Regeni repeatedly ask for a lawyer. The witness further described being taken to a state security office, known as the 'cemetery of the living,' where Regeni was taken to a separate section for foreigners. The witness stated he could hear Regeni being beaten in an adjacent room and described experiencing torture himself, including electroshock therapy.

Relations between Italy and Egypt, which were severely damaged by Regeni's killing, have gradually improved in recent years, though demands for accountability from Regeni's family and human rights groups have persisted.