Funeral service held for Italian student killed in Egypt

A funeral service has been held for an Italian student whose body was found in Cairo on Wednesday bearing marks of torture, nine days after he went missing.

Regeni, an Italian national, was last seen on the night of January 25, when he left home to meet a friend in central Cairo.

The PhD student had suffered cigarette burns to his face and feet and had bruises and other wounds over his body, leaving prosecutors in no doubt that he was murdered.

Regeni had been in Egypt since September conducting research on workers and labor rights – a sensitive topic, since disgruntled workers were among the forces in the 2011 anti-Mubarak uprising and authorities still worry about worker discontent.

He also assured the Italian ambassador that Egypt will cooperate fully with Italy in revealing the causes behind the death of the Italian student, added the spokesman. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi phoned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to demand that Giulio Regeni’s body be immediately repatriated and Italian experts be given access to the investigation into his death.

The Egyptian ambassador has been summoned to Italy’s foreign ministry in Rome. He said it appeared to have been a “slow death”.

According to Italian news agencies including RAI and ANSA a team of investigators comprising seven men from Italian police and Interpol will take part in the investigation.