Italian Court: Egyptians Believed Regeni was a British Spy

A prosecutor in a court in Rome, which is reviewing the case of Italian Giulio Regeni, who was found dead in Egypt nearly eight years ago, indicated that the Egyptian police arrested Regeni under the belief that he was a British spy and transferred him to a security facility where he was tortured and killed. Italy is accusing four Egyptian security officials of kidnapping and murdering Regeni, a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, in Cairo in 2016. The four men are being tried in absentia and have not publicly responded to the allegations. Egyptian authorities have consistently denied any state involvement in Regeni's disappearance and death. Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco stated in the second session of the trial: "The overall picture that emerged is one of a network slowly tightened by the accused around Regeni between September 2015 and January 25, 2016." Regeni was in Cairo conducting research on independent unions in Egypt for his doctorate and had formed friendships with individuals who were secretly reporting to local security forces. Colaiocco added: "Because of this activity, the accused mistakenly became convinced that Regeni was an English spy sent to provide funding to unions close to the Muslim Brotherhood."