Egypt to hand over Regeni’s belongings to Italy

Egypt agreed on Tuesday to hand over documents belonging to Italian student Guilio Regeni who was found dead in Cairo in February, a joint statement by the Egyptian and Italian prosecution read.

In an official statement released following a Cairo meeting between Rome’s deputy prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco and Egypt’s top prosecutor Nabil Sadek, the Egyptian prosecution said it will hand over Regeni’s documents that were found on 24 March.

The documents, which are no longer needed for the investigation being conducted in Egypt, include his American University in Cairo and Cambridge University ID cards inside a “red handbag bearing the Italian flag” along with other items such as his credit card and two mobile phones.

Colaiocco extended an invitation to Sadek to visit Rome in December to keep Cairo up-to-date on the developments in the case, as well as to arrange a visit between Egypt’s prosecutor and Regeni’s family.

Regeni, who was in Cairo conducting research on independent trade unions, went missing on 25 January. His body was found, bearing signs of torture, on a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo on 3 February.

In March, Egyptian police announced that they had found Regeni’s identity documents inside an apartment linked to a gang that robs foreigners, hours after killing all its four members in a fire exchange in New Cairo.

In September, Sadek visited Rome for updates on the probe, where he told his Italian counterparts that police briefly investigated Regeni before his murder but suspended their operation after three days.

Sadek also said during his visit that there were “doubts” regarding a link between a reported gang and the kidnapping and murder of Regeni.

Regeni’s murder has strained ties in an otherwise close relationship between Rome and Cairo.

Egypt strongly denies claims that security forces were involved in Regeni’s murder.

Italian officials have publicly criticised the investigations being carried out by Cairo, saying they were being conducted in a way that shows a lack of transparency.

Source: Ahram Online