Italian prosecutor in Egypt for Regeni murder probe

Italy’s deputy public prosecutor held talks Tuesday in Cairo with his Egyptian counterpart about the investigation into the January abduction, torture and murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni, officials said.
Sergio Colaiocco, who arrived at the head of a security and judicial delegation, met Nabil Sadeq, the two prosecutors said in a joint statement, and discussed the latest findings in the case.
During the meeting, they also vowed to pursue “their direct cooperation” and press with the investigation into Regeni’s murder, the statement said.
“The Egyptian prosecutor responded positively to a request from the Rome prosecution to hand over documents belonging to Regeni… since they are no longer of use for the investigation,” it added.
Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University PhD student, disappeared on January 25 in central Cairo during a heavy security deployment for the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.
His body was later found by a roadside, bearing signs of torture.
Egypt has denied any involvement of its security forces in his death, but Italy recalled its ambassador in April in protest at what it said was a lack of progress in the investigation.
In September, the two prosecutors said in a joint statement that Regeni, who was researching street vendor trade unions, had been investigated for three days by police in January.
It was the first official Egyptian acknowledgement that Regeni had been on the radar of the country’s security services.
Trade unions are an especially sensitive political issue in Egypt, with successive governments fearing strikes and labour unrest.
Police officials had at first suggested Regeni might have died in a road accident, and have since offered little information on their investigation.
An Italian autopsy showed that his body was covered with cuts and his bones were broken, indicating he was hit with “fists, batons and hammers”.
His parents, Paola and Claudio Regeni, said the report suggested he had been tortured by a “professional”.