The "Imperium" hearing has been postponed until next year. The ongoing proceedings in Sassari involve, among others, the outgoing rector of the University of Sassari, Gavino Mariotti. Today, preliminary investigations judge Gian Paolo Piana granted an extension, scheduling the next hearing for February 4, 2027, so that the plaintiff's lawyer, Pierandrea Setzu, can review 1,500 pages of wiretaps recently received. This lawyer, representing a retired professor at the University of Sassari, had in recent months opposed the dismissal of Mariotti's case requested by prosecutor Giovanni Porcheddu, who had also requested the same dismissal for the other defendants.
The rector is under investigation for 13 incidents, some classified as abuse of office, and therefore no longer prosecutable after the repeal of the law in 2024. The undue influence charge was later reclassified as "disturbed freedom of auctions," and concerns alleged involvement by the Rector in the hiring of people at the Local Health Authority (ASL) and alleged interference in managerial appointments, the election of university governing bodies, or the transfer of professors.
Among the incidents under scrutiny by the prosecutor's office, and brought to the attention of the Guardia di Finanza's investigative efforts, are a competition for a healthcare researcher and a reopening of the registration deadline for medical school exams to accommodate those who hadn't submitted their applications in time, including a relative. The prosecutor, also considering the inadmissibility of some wiretaps, deems these allegations to be without criminal relevance, leading him to request the case be dismissed. Today, defense attorney Luigi Esposito opposed a request for an extension from the defendant's lawyers, Setzu and Michele Galia, but the judge instead granted it.
