Egypt walks back rejection of Italy request over slain student

Egypt has softened its rejection of Italy’s request to hand over phone records of mobile subscribers in a Cairo district where an Italian doctoral student lived before he was abducted, tortured and killed.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri told reporters in Cairo on Tuesday that Egypt will examine the records and convey any findings to the Italians.

Last week, a senior prosecutor said Egypt had rejected the Italian request because it violates the law and the constitution. Shukri repeated the same reasons for rejecting Italy’s request and did not explain exactly how Egypt would share findings with Rome.

Giulio Regeni went missing on January 25, the anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 uprising. Police were out in force that day to prevent protests, fueling speculation they were behind his abduction and death.

Egyptian authorities informed Italian authorities on February 3 that Regeni’s body had been found along a highway on Cairo’s outskirts. At first, Egyptian officials blamed the death on a road accident.

After an initial autopsy performed by Egyptian authorities in Cairo, a second was performed Saturday in Rome after the body was flown from Egypt. The Italian autopsy found that Regeni had suffered extensive bruises and many fractures, and died after a neck vertebra was broken, perhaps by a heavy blow or a violent twisting of the head.

Italian media have honed in on the hypothesis that elements in Egypt’s security force, which have been criticized by human rights champions, had arrested the young man before his death because he was in contact with Egyptian labor activists as part of his research.

But Egypt’s interior minister retorted that his country’s investigators are working hard to solve the case and insisted Regeni had never been arrested.

Italy recently recalled its ambassador in Egypt to protest what it said was Cairo’s lack of cooperation in the Regeni investigation.