Italy again prosecutes Egypt officials for the 2016 torture and death of Italian student in Cairo
Italy again prosecutes Egypt officials for the 2016 torture and death of Italian student in Cairo
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as the hold a banner reading in Italian ‘Truth for Giulio Regeni’ prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja gestures during the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. At right is Regeni family attorney Alessandra Ballarini. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A view of the court room during the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials went on trial in absentia in a Rome court on Tuesday, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FILE - In this April 24, 2016 file photo, Paola, left, mother of slain student Giulio Regeni, flanked by her husband Claudio, speaks during a flash mob in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 24, 2016, organized by Amnesty International and asking for truth on their son’s death in January 2016 in Egypt. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
FILE -- In this file photo released by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior on Thursday, Mar. 24, 2016, personal belongings of slain Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, including his passport, are displayed. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo.(Egyptian Interior Ministry via AP, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2016 file photo, the father Claudio and the mother Paola, left, of Giulio Regeni follow his coffin during the funeral service in Fiumicello, Northern Italy. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Paolo Giovannini, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 file photo, the family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, mother Paola Regeni, Giulio’s sister Irene, and father Claudio arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini, fourth from right, at the Rebibbia prison in Rome to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in January 2016 in Egypt. The trial was halted on the day it opened because there was no certainty that the defendants had been officially informed that they were charged. A new trial starts in Rome on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, after Italy’s Constitutional Court changed the law. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as they arrive prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, outside the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja arrives for the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as the hold a banner reading in Italian ‘Truth for Giulio Regeni’ prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as the hold a banner reading in Italian ‘Truth for Giulio Regeni’ prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja gestures during the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja gestures during the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. At right is Regeni family attorney Alessandra Ballarini. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. At right is Regeni family attorney Alessandra Ballarini. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A view of the court room during the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials went on trial in absentia in a Rome court on Tuesday, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A view of the court room during the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials went on trial in absentia in a Rome court on Tuesday, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FILE - In this April 24, 2016 file photo, Paola, left, mother of slain student Giulio Regeni, flanked by her husband Claudio, speaks during a flash mob in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 24, 2016, organized by Amnesty International and asking for truth on their son’s death in January 2016 in Egypt. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
FILE - In this April 24, 2016 file photo, Paola, left, mother of slain student Giulio Regeni, flanked by her husband Claudio, speaks during a flash mob in Milan, Italy, Sunday, April 24, 2016, organized by Amnesty International and asking for truth on their son’s death in January 2016 in Egypt. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, file)
FILE -- In this file photo released by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior on Thursday, Mar. 24, 2016, personal belongings of slain Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, including his passport, are displayed. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo.(Egyptian Interior Ministry via AP, File)
FILE -- In this file photo released by the Egyptian Ministry of Interior on Thursday, Mar. 24, 2016, personal belongings of slain Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni, including his passport, are displayed. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo.(Egyptian Interior Ministry via AP, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2016 file photo, the father Claudio and the mother Paola, left, of Giulio Regeni follow his coffin during the funeral service in Fiumicello, Northern Italy. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Paolo Giovannini, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2016 file photo, the father Claudio and the mother Paola, left, of Giulio Regeni follow his coffin during the funeral service in Fiumicello, Northern Italy. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Paolo Giovannini, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 file photo, the family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, mother Paola Regeni, Giulio’s sister Irene, and father Claudio arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini, fourth from right, at the Rebibbia prison in Rome to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in January 2016 in Egypt. The trial was halted on the day it opened because there was no certainty that the defendants had been officially informed that they were charged. A new trial starts in Rome on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, after Italy’s Constitutional Court changed the law. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021 file photo, the family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, mother Paola Regeni, Giulio’s sister Irene, and father Claudio arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini, fourth from right, at the Rebibbia prison in Rome to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in January 2016 in Egypt. The trial was halted on the day it opened because there was no certainty that the defendants had been officially informed that they were charged. A new trial starts in Rome on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, after Italy’s Constitutional Court changed the law. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as they arrive prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio as they arrive prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, outside the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Paola, mother of Giulio Regeni, is flanked by by her husband Claudio prior to the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, outside the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja arrives for the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President of the court Paola Roja arrives for the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola leave the court at the end of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Claudio Regeni and his wife Paola attend the start of the trial for the killing of Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni, at the Rome’s court, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Four high-level Egyptian security officials are going on trial in absentia in a Rome court, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
ROME (AP) — Four high-level Egyptian security officials went on trial in absentia before a Rome court on Tuesday, accused in the 2016 abduction, torture and slaying of an Italian doctoral student in Cairo.
Giulio Regeni’s body was found on a highway days after he disappeared in the Egyptian capital on Jan. 25, 2016. He was in Cairo to research union activities among street vendors as part of his doctoral thesis.
His mother has said his body was so mutilated by torture that she was only able to recognize the tip of his nose when she viewed it. Human rights activists have said the marks on his body resembled those resulting from widespread torture in Egyptian Security Agency facilities.
Regeni’s parents, Paola and Giulio Regeni, were on hand for the opening court session and posed outside the tribunal with a banner “Truth for Giulio Regeni.”
“We have been waiting for eight years this moment,” said Regeni’s longtime family attorney Alessandra Ballerini. “We finally hope to have a trial against those who perpetrated all the possible pain in the world on Giulio.”
Tuesday’s opening hearing actually marked the second time the four Egyptian security officials went on trial on charges related to his death: In 2021, a Rome judge halted the trial on the day it opened, arguing there was no certainty that the defendants had been officially informed that they were charged.
In September, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that the trial could go ahead even if the four hadn’t received official notification, because Egyptian authorities had refused to provide addresses for them.
But the issue of official notification of the defendants was still a question Tuesday.
Tranquillino Sarno, a public defender for one of the defendants, Acer Kamel, asked for continued efforts to contact them. He asked the court to ensure that Egyptian authorities “can be officially informed of this trial in Italy, as today we don’t even know if they are still alive,” he said.
In addition to Kamal, who headed a police department in charge of street operations and discipline, the accused are Maj. Sherif Magdy; police Maj. Gen. Tareq Saber, who was a top official at the domestic security agency at the time of Regeni’s abduction; Col. Hesham Helmy, who was serving at a security center in charge of policing the Cairo district where the Italian was living.
Egyptian authorities have alleged that the Cambridge University doctoral student fell victim to ordinary robbers.
The case strained relations between Italy and Egypt, an ally for Rome in efforts to combat terrorism. At one point, Italy withdrew its ambassador to press for Egyptian cooperation in the investigation.
After preliminary motions, the president of the jury adjourned the proceedings until March 18.