Stephan Schmidheiny
Stephan Schmidheiny is a Swiss businessman, the last surviving patron of the Eternit multinational, which also produced asbestos-cement goods at its plant in Casale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria. His name is linked to the criminal proceedings brought in Italy over the deaths caused by asbestos exposure among workers and residents of the Piedmontese town.[1]
The Eternit bis trial
In the trial known as Eternit bis, Schmidheiny was charged with aggravated manslaughter over the deaths of 91 people linked to asbestos exposure. The Court of Appeal Assizes of Turin had sentenced him to nine and a half years in prison. On 10 November 2026 the Court of Cassation quashed the sentence and referred the case back to a newly constituted panel of the Court of Appeal Assizes of Turin, which must rule in particular on the causal link between asbestos exposure and the deaths at issue.[1]
The asbestos case in Casale Monferrato
The legal case against Schmidheiny has been followed for years by associations of asbestos victims' relatives, including Afeva, active in Casale Monferrato, the town where the Eternit plant once stood. At the reading of the Court of Cassation's ruling, on 10 November 2026, representatives of these associations, trade unions and local institutions from Casale Monferrato, including the town's mayor, attended in Rome.[1]
Timeline
- — On 10 November 2026 the Court of Cassation quashes the nine-and-a-half-year sentence given to Swiss businessman Stephan Schmidheiny in the Eternit bis trial and refers the case back to a newly constituted panel of the Court of Appeal Assizes of Turin. → Il Torinese
Sources
- Processo Eternit Bis: il giorno della verità — Il Torinese, 10 November 2026