Italian prosecutor in Egypt for Regeni murder probe

CAIRO: Italy´s deputy public prosecutor arrived in Egypt on Tuesday for an update on the investigation into the January abduction, torture, and murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni, officials said.

Sergio Colaiocco heads a security and judicial delegation to discuss the latest findings in the case with officials including Egypt´s public prosecutor Nabil Sadeq, the officials said.

The officials asked not to be identified because they were not authorised to speak with reporters.

Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University PhD student, disappeared on January 25 in central Cairo during a heavy security deployment for the fifth anniversary of the start of the 2011 uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

His body was later found by a roadside, bearing signs of torture.

Egypt has denied any involvement of its security forces in his death, but Italy recalled its ambassador in April in protest at what it said was a lack of progress in the investigation.

In September, the two prosecutors said in a joint statement that Regeni, who was researching street vendor trade unions, had been investigated for three days by police in January.

It was the first official Egyptian acknowledgement that Regeni had been on the radar of the country´s security services.

Trade unions are an especially sensitive political issue in Egypt, with successive governments fearing strikes and labour unrest. Police officials had at first suggested Regeni might have died in a road accident, and have since offered little information on their investigation.