The head of Egypt's independent union of street vendors reported Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni to police a few weeks before he disappeared and was murdered, an Egyptian prosecutor has said in Rome.
The body of Regeni (28), was found on the side of a roadway on the outskirts of Cairo on February 3rd this year, more than a week after he vanished. The body showed signs of torture, including cigarette burns, cuts and contusions.
Government and security services deny ever having taken Mr Regeni into custody. But security and intelligence sources told Reuters in April he had been arrested by police outside a Cairo metro station on January 25th and was taken to a Homeland Security compound.
Rome's chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone and Egyptian general prosecutor Nabeel Sadek met for the third time this year on yesterday and today to exchange information collected during their respective investigations.
Mr Sadek "said that he confirmed that Cairo police, on Jan 7, 2016, received a report from the head of the independent union of street vendors on Giulio Regeni", according to a joint statement by prosecutors released on Friday.
“Afterward the police carried out checks on (Mr Regeni’s) activity. After the checks, which lasted three days, no activity of interest to national security was discovered and, as a consequence, the checks were stopped,” the statement said.
Mr Regeni had been researching independent labour unions in Egypt for his doctorate studies at Cambridge University, and had been in contact with the leaders of the street vendors' union.
Ambassador recalled
In April, Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt for consultations in protest against Egypt's failure to hand over evidence related to Mr Regeni's death after the first meeting between Rome and Cairo prosecutors.
Today, Mr Sadek “illustrated and delivered an ample, complete and in-depth report on the cell phone traffic in the area where Giulio Regeni disappeared and where his body was found”, the statement said.
The cell phone traffic data had been sought by Rome investigators for months. But another piece of evidence requested by the Italians - CCTV footage from the metro station where Regeni was last seen - was still not provided.
The statement said there was a “common commitment” to overcome “technical obstacles” in recovering the video, without elaborating.
The two prosecutors said they renewed their commitment to exchange information and find the truth about Mr Regeni’s death.
Mr Sadek also said he was willing to meet Mr Regeni’s parents to reassure them he was trying to get to the bottom of “such a serious crime”.
Italy has significant economic interests in Egypt, including the giant offshore Zohr gas field, which is being developed by Italy’s state energy producer, Eni.
Prime minister Matteo Renzi has also sought to be Egypt's main political partner in Europe, offering to be "a bridge" to the region for Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Reuters