The long-delayed trial in absentia of four Egyptian security officials accused of torturing to death Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016 can resume in Rome after a key ruling by Italy’s Constitutional Court on Friday. The decision removes a significant procedural barrier that had stalled the Regeni trial.
Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old doctoral researcher from Friuli studying at the University of Cambridge, disappeared in Cairo on 25 January 2016 while researching street unions. A week later, on 3 February, his half-naked body was found in a ditch along the Cairo-Alexandria highway with clear signs of torture.
Charges and absence of the accused
Italian prosecutors have charged four members of Egypt’s National Security Agency — General Tariq Sabir, Colonels Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim and Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif — with kidnapping, torture and murder. Egypt has refused to provide addresses or to notify them of the proceedings, meaning none has attended any hearings to date and the case has been heard in their absence.
Trials in absentia are permitted under Italian law in some circumstances, but the process was suspended in October 2025 when the Rome Assize Court raised questions about the defendants’ right to a fair defence, specifically whether the accused could properly access legal representation and expert assistance given their absence.
Constitutional Court ruling
Italy’s Constitutional Court was asked to rule on whether the State must advance payment for legal costs for the defendants, including fees for court-appointed technical consultants and experts, in trials conducted without the accused present. On Friday the Court held that the State must advance these costs, finding that failing to do so violated the right to defence guaranteed under Article 24 of the Italian Constitution.
The Constitutional Court’s judgement declared unconstitutional the provision of the criminal code that prevented such advance payment, at least in this exceptional context where absence results from another state’s refusal to cooperate, rather than a deliberate choice by a defendant.
With this issue resolved, the trial documents will be returned to the First Assize Court of Rome, which is expected to set a hearing in February 2026 to appoint defence consultants and resume proceedings. A closing argument by Deputy Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco is anticipated in spring, possibly April.
