Egypt holds mass memorial for slain Italian student

Egypt’s Saint Joseph Church in the capital Cairo on Saturday, held a mass in memory of Italian student Giulio Regeni, killed in January.

The North Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Hisham Zazou, who attended the service said the incident had dented Egypt and his country’s relationship.

“Well, the Egyptian-Italian relationship in the field of tourism, as well as other many, many, many fields, is excellent and we are keen to maintain that excellent relationship between our two countries. Unfortunately that recent incident of this gentleman, Giulio Regeni that lost his life here in Egypt has created a negative atmosphere in that respect and I look forward we bypass that,” Zazou told mourners.

According to reports, 28-year-old Regeni went missing while doing his research (PhD) into how trade unions were organised before 2011 in Egypt.

His body was found in the outskirts of Cairo in February, with signs of torture and violence.

Italy has asked Egyptian investigators should hand over the evidence they have uncovered on Regeni’s death.

Egypt invited Italian investigators to take part in the investigation, but judicial sources in Rome say the collaboration has been limited because not enough information was shared.

Earlier reports had surfaced that an autopsy conducted on Regeni showed he was interrogated for up to seven days before he was killed.

The official has said Regeni’s body exhibited signs he had been burned with cigarettes, apparently a hallmark of the Egyptian security services, over a period of days in a manner consistent with an interrogation or attempt to extract information.