Alessandro Di Battista has returned to Rome following emergency surgery in Cuba. He has been transferred to Gemelli Hospital

The aeroplane carrying Alessandro di Battista landed at around 7 am at Ciampino Airport. Having departed last night from Cuba, it made its final stopover in Luxembourg before arriving in Rome. Immediately after landing, an ambulance left Ciampino, escorted by a police car, heading for Gemelli Hospital, where Di Battista will be admitted.

Di Battista was in Cuba on an assignment when he was admitted to hospital following severe headaches. He underwent emergency surgery last week and remained in a hospital in Havana until yesterday. After two weeks in hospital, Alessandro Di Battista left Cuba for Italia on Friday aboard an air ambulance. The activist had been admitted to Santa Clara Hospital, before being transferred – given the seriousness of his condition – to the better-equipped Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana.

The Return

“Welcome back, my brother. We’ll meet up again in Rome in a few hours. Thanks again to all the Cuban doctors who have looked after Alessandro over these endless days.” This is how Luca Di Giuseppe, president of Schierarsi, the former MP’s association, celebrated the news on his social media channels, also posting a photo of the plane that will bring him home.

It was clear from Thursday night that things were moving in the right direction, with his return to Italia imminent. “We would like to thank the doctors, nurses and physiotherapists who are currently looking after him ahead of his return to Italia,” Schierarsi wrote in a post published on Facebook.

The successful operation was in fact the second attempt to transfer Di Battista to Italia. He was originally due to return to Rome on the afternoon of 5 September, but on the same day Schierarsi announced on Instagram that the return had been postponed, asking ‘everyone to exercise the utmost discretion and caution when sharing information whilst awaiting further updates’. The reason was the need for the former MP to undergo emergency surgery.