Egyptian police detained Italian student before his murder - Intelligence reports

Egypt

The Italian student who was tortured and murdered in Egypt is claimed to have been detained by police and then transferred to a compound run by Homeland Security the day he disappeared, police sources and intelligence say.

This is contradicting official Egyptian account that the security forces did not arrest him.

An exclusive investigation done by Reuters links Regeni’s research studies to his death. Apparently, he was researching trade unions in Egypt, focusing on street vendors who were often used by police authorities to attack protesters or as informers.

Exclusive: Egypt police took Regeni before his murder -sources. He was driven in “white minibus with police plates” https://t.co/Vt5fCGcaoS

— Crispian Balmer (@crispiandjb) April 21, 2016

Reuters further noted that his obituary on the Cambridge University website said Regeni “sought to understand how the labor sector was changing in the country, in the context of economic globalization and greater international institutional linkages.”

“Any foreigner who does this kind of research is followed by the security services,” a mid-ranking Homeland Security official told Reuters. “This does not mean that we suspect him. This is our work.”

But three Egyptian intelligence officials and three police sources independently told Reuters the police had custody of Regeni at some point before he died.

His friends say that the postgraduate student, disappeared on January 25. His body was found a week later, dumped on the side of a road outside Cairo. According to forensic and prosecution officials in Egypt, his body showed signs of torture.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Cairo this week to raise human rights concerns with Egypt’s leaders.The United States is now calling for an impartial and comprehensive investigation into the death of the student and said it had pressed the point in private talks with Egyptian authorities.