Giacomo Passeri, 31, originally from Pescara and living in London, was arrested a year ago in Cairo and sentenced to 25 years in prison in the first instance for “international drug trafficking” by an Egyptian court. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is shedding light on the matter and is following the case with “the utmost attention”. “The first-instance hearing in the Passeri case took place in Cairo on 19 August, attended as an observer by the head of the Consular Chancellery of the Italian Embassy, accompanied by an interpreter. On the same day, the lawyer informed the General Directorate that Mr. Passeri had been sentenced to 25 years in prison.” The young man's lawyer “has, however, already informed the Embassy – the note continues – of his intention to appeal”.
The accusation
The Egyptian authorities accuse the 31-year-old man, who has been locked up for more than 12 months in the Badr “Correctional and Rehabilitation Center”, of having found him in possession of “a significant quantity of narcotics, including numerous ova, which he ingested, also containing narcotics”. And it is for this reason that they found him guilty of international drug trafficking. In the meantime, the embassy, in close coordination with Farnesina, continues to follow the case in constant contact with Passeri's lawyer and “has asked the competent Egyptian authorities to authorize a consular visit to the prison with the utmost urgency, to provide all necessary assistance”, the statement concludes.
“We are still in shock”
The boy's family said they were “still in shock,” the Pescara boy's brother said. The family had raised the alarm about the boy's condition, and he had also gone on hunger strike to protest the treatment he had received and the lengthening of the trial. “My brother – He added: “He is locked in a cell with 14 other prisoners, there are flies and a bad smell. Physically he is fine, but he is being tested psychologically. We will certainly appeal, in the meantime we are appealing to the State” was the complaint.
The reactions of politicians
On this subject, the AVS MP Marco Grimaldi and the regional secretary of the Italian Sinistra Italiana of Abruzzo Daniele Licheri have called for the immediate intervention of the Italian government. For them, we are dealing with “a story of denial of human rights. We saw the Regeni case, the Zaki case, we did not trust those who said that everything was fine in Egypt. He was detained without translators and subjected to interrogation without a lawyer. It is not necessary to know what Luigi Giacomo Passeri is accused of.” The same line was taken by Italia Viva senator Ivan Scalfarotto, who asked the Farnesina to summon the ambassador. “Life imprisonment for possession of a small amount of marijuana is a sentence that obviously makes no sense: the senseless sentence handed down in Cairo against our compatriot Giacomo Passeri reopens old wounds in relations between our country and Egypt. Minister Tajani must immediately contact his Egyptian counterpart, possibly also summoning the Egyptian ambassador to the Farnesina, to make the protest against a decision that is completely unreasonable and unproportionate,” the senator, head of foreign affairs for Italia Viva, said in a note. “The conditions of Passeri's detention, incarcerated in a facility with appalling hygienic conditions with people convicted of very serious crimes, were already causing serious concern. “This sentence, which requires, among other things, that she serve at least 25 years in Egypt, represents a real slap in the face for our country,” concludes Scalfarotto.
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