Rome trial resumes of Egyptian officers accused over murder of Italian student

The trial of four Egyptian security agents accused of kidnapping and murdering an Italian student in Cairo resumed in Rome on Tuesday, 2-1/2 years after the last hearing, with defence lawyers once more seeking to bury the case.

The trial of four Egyptian security agents accused of kidnapping and murdering an Italian student in Cairo resumed in Rome on Tuesday, 2-1/2 years after the last hearing, with defence lawyers once more seeking to bury the case. Giulio Regeni, a postgraduate student at Britain's Cambridge University, disappeared in the Egyptian capital in January 2016. His body was found almost a week later and a post-mortem examination showed he had been tortured before his death.

Italian prosecutors allege four Egyptian officials were involved in the killing, but have been unable to track them down to issue summons. As a result they are being tried in absentia. Proceedings opened in October 2021, but were immediately suspended after the judge accepted arguments from court-appointed defence lawyers that the trial would be void if there was no evidence the defendants knew they had been charged.

Prosecutors appealed the decision and Italy's top court dismissed the concern last year, saying Egypt's failure to cooperate in locating the suspects should not stymie the trial. On Tuesday, defence lawyers again urged the trial be annulled. They said it was not clear if the suspects were still alive and questioned if they had been correctly identified.

The judges will review the request and the next hearing was set for March 18. Italian and Egyptian prosecutors initially investigated the case together, but came to different conclusions.

Egypt said the killing was the work of gangsters and denied any state involvement in Regeni's disappearance or death. Italian prosecutors say Major Magdi Sharif, from Egypt's General Intelligence, Major General Tarek Sabir, the former head of state security, police Colonel Hisham Helmy and Colonel Ather Kamal, a former head of investigations in Cairo city, were responsible for the "aggravated kidnapping" of Regeni.

Sharif has also been accused of "conspiracy to commit aggravated murder". The four men have never responded publicly to the accusations. SABOTAGE

Regeni had been in Cairo to research Egypt's independent unions for his doctoral thesis. Associates say he was also interested in the long-standing domination of Egypt's economy by the state and military. Both subjects are sensitive in Egypt. Prosecutors say they have evidence showing that Sharif got informants to follow Regeni and eventually had him arrested in a Cairo metro station. The charge sheet says Sharif, and other, unidentified Egyptian officials, then tortured Regeni over several days, causing him "acute physical suffering".

When the trial opened in 2021, prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco told the court that Egypt had tried to sabotage the probe and had prevented the suspects from being informed of the charges. The case has strained diplomatic ties between Italy and Egypt. But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday it was vital to have good relations with Cairo as they worked together to ease suffering in the Gaza Strip.

"The truth must be ascertained, the guilty parties must be held accountable. However, this has nothing to do with what is happening in Israel, in the Gaza Strip, and in the Middle East," Tajani told reporters. "If we want to save human lives, we must do so together with the Egyptians," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)