Overview
- The I Corte d’Assise di Roma accepted a constitutionality objection raised by court‑appointed defense lawyers and referred the issue to the Constitutional Court.
- The referral concerns whether state legal aid can cover technical consultants for defendants declared absent, a question the judges called not manifestly unfounded and relevant.
- Proceedings are suspended, and hearings set for September 22 and 26 and October 3 and 6, 2025 were canceled, delaying any verdict.
- Defense counsel argue the lack of legal aid prevented hiring translators and experts, including for a decisive translation of testimony by Cairo street vendors’ leader Mohammed Abdallah.
- The move follows a 2023 Constitutional Court ruling that allowed the case to proceed despite Egypt’s lack of cooperation.