ROME: An Italian prosecutor said on Thursday that graduate student Giulio Regeni, who was kidnapped and murdered in Cairo two years ago, was killed due to his research into Egypt’s independent labor unions.
On the second anniversary of his disappearance, Italy’s main newspapers published an article written by Rome’s chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone summarizing the results of a joint investigation with Egyptian authorities.
In the article, Pignatone also said Regeni had been the target of Egyptian surveillance up until the day he vanished.
Egyptian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in Regeni’s murder and Egyptian Interior Ministry officials were not immediately available on Thursday for comment on Pignatone’s remarks.
It is the first time that Pignatone has publicly discussed the results of the investigation. No-one has been accused of Regeni’s murder.
“The motive can be easily traced to Giulio’s research activities during his months in Cairo,” Pignatone wrote.
“What also has become clear is that Giulio had for months attracted the attention of Egypt’s state apparatus, which continued in an increasingly pressing way until Jan. 25,” Pignatone said, referring to the day he disappeared.
Regeni’s disfigured body was found around a week later in a ditch outside Cairo.
The Italian had been researching Egypt’s independent labor unions for a doctorate at Britain’s Cambridge University. Rome prosecutors this month seized the computer and cell phone of his Cambridge tutor, Maha Abdelrahman. Pignatone said an initial examination of the material showed it was “useful.”
Cambridge University has rejected any suggestion Abdelrahman might be implicated in his death.
The Regeni case has strained ties between Egypt and Italy, which recalled its ambassador over the case. Relations were restored in August when Rome said it would return its ambassador to Cairo and continue to search for Regeni’s killers.
Italian prosecutor says Cambridge PhD student Regeni murdered for his Cairo research
Italian prosecutor says Cambridge PhD student Regeni murdered for his Cairo research
Floods ravage Minas Gerais, killing 36 as rescuers race to find dozens missing
- Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes
- 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters
JUIZ DE FORA, Brazil: Dozens are still missing in southeastern Brazil on Wednesday after floods killed at least 36 people in the state of Minas Gerais, officials said Wednesday. Rescue teams worked through the night, as heavy rain is expected in the region in the next few days.
All the victims found so far are in the cities of Juiz de Fora and Uba, about 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.
Minas Gerais’s fire department said 33 people were still missing and about 3,000 residents had been forced to leave their homes as of Wednesday morning.
The streets of Juiz de Fora, a city of 560,000 residents, were covered in mud as authorities feared more landslides. Life in neighboring Uba, with its 107,000 residents, came to a stop. Classes were suspended in both cities, their mayors said.
Juiz de Fora’s City Hall said in a statement that around 600 families living in endangered areas were about to be relocated to local schools improvised as shelters and that the city experienced double the rain expected for February. Mayor Margarida Salomão said at least 20 landslides had been reported since the torrential rain began Monday evening.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on his social media channels that security forces have been deployed on rescue missions and are providing immediate assistance to the population affected by the rain. He also said health care teams had been sent to the region, which lies close to hills, valleys and slopes.
