The trial of four senior Egyptian security officials accused of kidnapping, torturing and killing Italian student Giulio Regeni in 2016 begins in Rome on Tuesday.
The opening hearing marks the second time the four security guards have been tried in absentia. The first trial was canceled in 2021 after it was claimed that it was unclear whether the men had been formally informed that they had been charged with Regeni’s death.
The four defendants were identified as senior members of Egypt’s internal security services.
What do we know about Regeni’s death?
Regeni, who was 28 years old at the time of her death, was in Cairo conducting research for her doctoral thesis when she was abducted in January 2016, but her body was found nine days later, abandoned near a highway. , there were signs of torture.
His mother said his body was so badly mutilated that when she saw it, only “the tip of his nose” was recognizable.
His family’s lawyer said he had five broken teeth, 15 fractured bones and was found with writing carved into his skin.
Human rights activists said the wounds on Regeni’s body resembled those caused by torture in Egyptian Security Service facilities.
Bonds strained by student’s death
Regeni’s death has strained relations between Italy and Egypt, with Italian lawmakers accusing Cairo of hostility to attempts to secure justice.
At one point, Italy withdrew its ambassador to pressure Egypt to cooperate with the investigation.
Investigators believe Regeni was kidnapped and killed after being mistaken for a foreign spy.
Egyptian authorities claim the Cambridge University PhD student was the victim of a common robbery.
kb/nm (AP, AFP)