A STUDENT at Cambridge was ruthlessly tortured and murdered after he was mistaken for a British spy plotting against Egypt, a court has heard.
Giulio Regeni, 28, had his arms, legs and ribs allegedly broken by Egyptian secret service officials as they left his body burnt and sliced to pieces in the bottom of a ditch, claim prosecutors.
A shocked Rome court heard the bombshell accusations after results of a post-mortem showed the Italian student’s body riddled with signs of brutal Egyptian torture.
Giulio’s body was discovered with burn marks, cuts and bruises all over his skin.
More than two dozen bone fractures were also found including seven broken ribs, both legs and arms and his shoulder blades.
Every one of his toes and fingers were even shattered, the court was told.
Alarm bells were first raised within Egypt when Giulio published anti-government findings into an Italian newspaper.
Because of this activity, the defendants were erroneously convinced that Regeni was an English spy
Sergio Colaiocco
He then flew into Cairo to continue his research into the countries independent unions and added fuel to the spy theories.
The 28-year-old student was under government surveillance before his kidnapping and killing, Egyptian officials confirmed.
Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco said at the trial that Egyptian officials were “erroneously convinced that Regeni was an English spy” due to his movements, connections and work.
It is believed he was tortured by intelligence officers with sticks, lit cigarettes and razor blades after they snatched him from a metro station.
Vittorio Fineschi, the medical examiner who was in charge of the chilling autopsy, said the torture methods seen were likely carried out in Egypt.
Severe stab wounds were found on the soles of his feet alongside burn marks.
As more red hot markings could be seen between his shoulder blades and seared into the fragile skin.
Giulio was branded by his tormentors to send a message, the court heard.
Tragically, Giulio also suffered a brain haemorrhage and a broken cervical vertebra.
His official cause of death was said to be from a fatal neck injury that likely resulted in the broken vertebra.
Giulio’s heartbroken mother Paola Deffendi said her son was only recognisable from the “tip of his nose” when his body was recovered from a ditch in Cairo.
Paola said “all the evil in the world” was unleashed onto Giulio.
EGYPTIAN SUSPICIONS
The PhD student first went missing on January 25, 2016.
Giulio was last seen leaving his Cairo flat as he went out to meet a friend in the city before reportedly disappearing to the Izbakiya police station in a white van.
His body was found nine days later on February 3, dumped down a highway ditch between Cairo and Alexandria stripped from below the waist.
Giulio was in Egypt trying to work on his doctoral thesis for the University of Cambridge on Egypt’s independent unions.
Colleagues and pals said he was constantly monitoring the countries military dominance on the economy and had a strong interest in the state’s goings on.
He also reportedly published anti-government findings for an Italian left-wing paper called il Manifesto as a student.
It is thought this unwanted attention onto government activity raised alarm bells within the secret service.
Prosecutors say Egypt’s General Intelligence officer, Major Magdi Sharif, ordered his arrest at a metro station and sent informants to detain him.
In 2016, the Egyptian government also confirmed the student was under authoritative surveillance.
Claims suggest Giulio became close to people who were reporting his whereabouts and findings back to the local security forces.
Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco said at the trial: “Because of this activity, the defendants were erroneously convinced that Regeni was an English spy, sent to give financing to unions close to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Simone Pieranni, the foreign desk editor at il Manifesto, said Giulio published the work under a pseudonym out of fear of being attacked.
He said: “I imagine it was for security because the articles were about workers and unions.
“It’s clear that when you speak about social rights and workers’ rights in Egypt you are implicitly denouncing the lack of freedom.”
SECRET SERVICE SUSPECTS
The four men named in the court documents as suspects are General Tariq Sabir, Colonels Athar Kamel and Uhsam Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif.
They all face kidnapping charges as Sharif also faces the charge of causing the fatal injuries.
None of the men have responded publicly to the accusations.
They are also not set to appear in court at all despite the horrific claims against them.
Defence lawyer Tranquillino Sarno described them as “absolutely untraceable” and said they will “certainly not serve their sentences” if found guilty.
The Egyptian authorities have also denied any involvement in Regeni’s disappearance or murder.
Up to 73 people have been asked to be called in as witnesses by the prosecution.
The Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi and the former foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni are all on the list of witnesses.
The drawn out case led to increased tensions between Italy and Egypt after the African nation originally blamed the murder on a roadside accident or a calculated sex attack.
They later pinned it on gangsters.
Italian MPs accused Cairo of being “openly hostile” as they refused to cooperate and try the suspects.
The initial autopsy report was made by Egyptian officials only despite Italian investigators also working on the case.
CCTV footage from the Cairo metro on the day of Giulio’s disappearance was also edited with “unexplained gaps”, said Italian prosecutors.
In December 2020, five suspects in the murder and torture case were fully cleared of any responsibility by Egypt’s public prosecutor.
But a year later, an Italian parliamentary commission found Egypt’s security agency was to blame for the death in December 2021.
The latest trial is set to continue for some time.
