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‘Seven Egyptian policemen involved in Italian student’s killing’

January 27, 2017 at 12:44 pm

Italy’s ANSA news agency has claimed that seven Egyptian police officers are suspected in the killing of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in Cairo last year. The agency cited a report that the Egyptian security services used the head of the street vendors union, Mohammed Abdullah, as an informant to lure Regeni, and later to murder a gang that had allegedly kidnapped and killed the student.

“A year has passed since the horrific death of Giulio Regeni,” tweeted Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. “We are committed with the judicial authorities to find out the truth about his death.”

Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano, meanwhile, said in a message to mark the first anniversary of Regeni’s death, “A year has passed since his disappearance in Cairo on the anniversary of the Egyptian revolution. His tragic end continues to represent an open wound, not only for his family, who are in our thoughts, but for our nation as a whole.” Alfano said that the search for truth is not a “special issue” but a collective commitment for which Italy has requested strongly since the beginning.

The news agency referred to the video clip that has been leaked. It was recorded secretly by Abdullah using a micro-camera belonging to the security agencies as Regeni asked him about the union as part of his research. Abdullah has defended his action by claiming that he was doing a patriotic duty and described Regeni as a spy.

The student was doing his PhD research on trade unions in Egypt when he went missing in January last year. His body was found in a Cairo suburb 10 days after his disappearance bearing signs of torture. Egypt has repeatedly denied the involvement of any of the security forces in the incident.