Torturers carved letters into Regeni’s body

A 220-page post mortem report into the murder of Italian Cambridge student Giulio Regeni in Egypt this year has revealed the findings of “mysterious” letters carved into his dead body.

The 28-year-old Italian, who was studying for a PhD, disappeared in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in January whilst researching activities of anti-government trade unions.

A week later his tortured body was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo.

The autopsy conducted by Italian coroners, Professors Vittorio Fineschi and Marcello Chiarotti, found that Regeni had been tortured for a number of days. Knives had been used to carve letters into his body. An “X” was found on his left hand while other markings were found on his back, forehead and above his right eye.

“In the dorsal region, to the left of the spine, there is a group of marks which seem to make up a letter,” the autopsy said. “It is reasonable to hypothesise that he was hit with kicks, fists, sticks and hammers.”

The post-mortem also found he suffered several broken bones including shattered teeth and bruises and burns all over his body. His death was finally caused by having his neck broken by “professional torturers”.

Italy has accused the Egyptian authorities of being uncooperative with the investigation into the student’s death and for delaying an inquiry into those responsible for his torture and murder. The police or intelligence services have since been linked to his murder, targeting the Italian student because of the investigative work he was conducting in the country.

“We will never stop seeking the truth,” said the head of Italian Association for Prisoners’ Rights, Patrizio Gonnella. “We hope that this time there will be a lot more cooperation from the Egyptians and that all the documents and phone records that have been requested will be provided.”
Egyptian investigators arrived in Rome yesterday to conduct meetings with Italian police and prosecutors who will be hoping for more cooperation by the Egyptians into the investigation.