Alessandro Di Battista's return to Rome has been postponed due to worsening health conditions

Alessandro Di Battista's return to Rome has been postponed. The well-known activist remains in Cuba for now, where he underwent surgery. What made the change of course necessary was a worsening of the former parliamentarian's already serious conditions shortly before embarking on the delicate journey aboard an air ambulance: a journey in stages that should have taken him to Italy that day, before being admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic. And instead, according to various reconstructions, shortly before take-off it was decided to go back and immediately subject him to the surgical operation on site, in Havana. The announcement of the postponed flight was made in the morning by 'Schierarsi', the Dibba association, asking "everyone to maintain maximum discretion and prudence in disseminating information, awaiting further updates".

The post, also relaunched by the account of the former five-star parliamentarian, was welcomed by thousands of comments on social media from "apprehensive" followers, asking for clarification on the health conditions of "a much-loved public figure", who continue to show closeness to him and urge him to hold on ("Come on Ale!", "Get well soon", "We're waiting for you").

His last direct intervention was on Thursday evening, when he posted yet another denunciation of what is happening in Gaza, without any reference to his personal situation ("In the last week Israeli terrorists have killed at least 35 Palestinian civilians", "don't look the other way", the appeal). The activist and reporter - he was in Cuba for a reportage for Il Fatto - has been at the "Hermanos Ameijeiras" in Havana for a week where he was transported after an initial hospitalization in serious conditions in Santa Clara, following severe pain in his head. Since then, many rumors have circulated about his condition, but little certain information, also due to the discretion requested on several occasions by his family and his closest circle. In recent days, the mother of his two children, Sahra Lahouasnia, and two doctors from the Gemelli hospital - a neurosurgeon and a resuscitator - had arrived in the Cuban capital to collaborate with the Cuban medical team on his case.

The president of the Schierarsi association, Luca Di Giuseppe, also immediately flew to Havana and returned to Italy a few days later. Not before thanking the Cuban doctors and the ambassador Simona Di Martino "who has never made us feel alone and is doing an extraordinary job with great responsibility". On Facebook, many are currently dedicating thoughts to the former five-star parliamentarian, among the tough and pure of the original Movement, often simply referred to as "Ale". The writer and journalist of Fatto Quotidiano, Andrea Scanzi, points the finger at Italy as a "degraded country": "A boy fights the most important battle of his life, and for days the worst of this country debated whether or not the boy deserved 'state flight', an option which he never even took into consideration in the slightest", the harsh indictment. In fact, Di Battista himself had recently underlined that the costs of the air ambulance trip would have been covered by the insurance company with which he had taken out a policy before departure. If the resources available were not enough, the M5s community, which has been anxious about him for days, had come forward to contribute, as had Marco Travaglio's newspaper. Furthermore, former prime minister Giuseppe Conte was among those who had pushed to send the two Gemelli professionals to Havana to support the Cuban doctors.