Supreme Court ruling on the Eternit bis trial
Date of the event:
On 10 November 2026 the Fourth Section of the Court of Cassation, in Rome, overturns the ruling that had sentenced Swiss businessman Stephan Schmidheiny to nine and a half years in the Eternit bis trial, for aggravated manslaughter in relation to 91 victims of asbestos exposure. The Court orders the case to be referred back to a differently composed Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin, which had issued the sentence that was then overturned [1].
The hearing
The Court retires to deliberate shortly after 1pm on 10 November, after public prosecutor Paolo Fiore requested that the sentence be confirmed, citing the reasoning of the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin and the inadmissibility of the grounds for appeal put forward by the defence. Lawyers for the civil parties also spoke, including Ester Gatti, Giacomo Mattalia and Maurizio Riverditi, as well as representatives of Inai and the State Advocacy for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, all in favour of rejecting the appeal [1].
The defence
Schmidheiny's lawyers, Astolfo Di Amato and Guido Carlo Alleva, raise in their appeal the question of ne bis in idem, citing a 2025 ruling of the European Court, and challenge the causal link established on appeal, in particular the scientific study by Farahmand cited by the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin as evidence of the accelerated onset of mesothelioma linked to asbestos exposure. The study had been presented on appeal by Professor Corrado Magnani [1].
The ruling
The Court of Cassation announces its decision in the evening, after 7pm: it overturns the sentence and refers the case back to the Court of Assizes of Appeal of Turin, in a composition different from the previous one, for a new examination believed to concern in particular the causal link [1]. More than fifty people are present at the hearing in Rome, including activists from the Afeva association, trade unionists and relatives of asbestos victims, together with political representatives of the municipality of Casale Monferrato, including mayor Emanuele Capra and the president of the city council Gianni Filiberti [1].
Sources
- Processo Eternit bis, il giorno della verità — Il Torinese, 10 November 2026