Five Egyptian police officers have not been prosecuted in connection with the 2016 killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni. Egypt’s public prosecutor asked investigators on Wednesday to withdraw the agents from the investigation.
On Wednesday, the public prosecutor said he would not prosecute the five officers because he did not know who was behind the murder.
According to the Egyptian Public Prosecutor, the investigation into the murder will continue, but he has ruled out the charges against the five officers.
Italian prosecutors decided earlier this month to indict up to four Egyptian security personnel for the torture and death of Regeni.
Regeni’s death sparked great outrage in Italy, placing great pressure on diplomatic relations with Egypt. The Italian government accuses the Egyptian authorities of not cooperating in the investigation into the horrific student’s death.
Prosecutors said Regeni’s parents took their son’s laptop with them immediately after his death, before authorities could check its contents. Italy is said to have rejected requests to move the laptop.
The student was tortured and killed
Regeni, 28, a graduate student at Cambridge University, researches the rise of independent trade unions in Egypt. He disappeared without a trace at the end of January 2016. His body was found in a ditch two weeks later, showing signs of torture.
Critics of the Egyptian regime accused the security forces of involvement. The Egyptian government denied this. An autopsy revealed earlier that the victim must have been beaten for a week before he was killed.
Trade unions are a sensitive topic in Egypt. The student has written several articles criticizing the Egyptian authoritarian regime under a pseudonym.
