Moroccan Farmworker Dies After Being Struck by Tractor in Italy
Hamid Essahli, a 36-year-old Moroccan farmworker and father of two, was fatally struck by a tractor in fields in central Italy. The verdict in the case against his colleague, who is charged with intentional homicide and faces a 12-year prison sentence, was due on Wednesday. It has now been postponed until 7 October.
The case dates back to 1 July 2025 in Trasacco, in the agricultural plain of Fucino, in Abruzzo. Hamid Essahli worked on a farm in the region. He was married and the father of two young children, and lived with his family in Avezzano.
That night, an altercation broke out between Hamid and another Moroccan worker. Other workers who were there intervened and initially managed to separate the two men.
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According to the reconstruction examined by the court, Hamza Mahrani then got back on a tractor to drive away toward the road. Hamid is said to have approached the vehicle with a wooden plank in his hand. It was then that he was struck by the farm vehicle.
Exactly how the impact occurred is now at the heart of the trial. The prosecution says the driver accelerated toward Hamid. The defense disputes this interpretation and argues for a different account of the seconds before the collision.
Prosecutors seek 12-year prison sentence
The autopsy concluded that Hamid Essahli died of respiratory and cardiocirculatory failure caused by injuries sustained when he was run over. Forensic examinations noted, in particular, injuries consistent with being struck and crushed by the vehicle.
The Avezzano prosecutor’s office is prosecuting Hamza Mahrani for unaggravated intentional homicide. Prosecutor Maurizio Maria Cerrato sought a 12-year prison sentence at an earlier hearing. The accused, now 30, remains under house arrest.
The trial is being heard under Italy’s summary procedure, at the defense’s request. Judge Mario Cervellino was due to deliver his decision on Wednesday, 30 September.
The decision will now take another week. According to Abruzzo Daily, the verdict has been postponed until 7 October. The court is due to decide at first instance on that date between the opposing accounts of the exact circumstances of the Moroccan worker’s death.
