Giulio Regeni's Death: Trial Begins for Four Egyptians in Italy

In a Rome court on Tuesday, four senior Egyptian security officials were tried in absentia over the kidnapping, torture, and killing of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016. Giulio Regeni’s parents, Paola and Giulio Regeni attended the opening and posed outside the court with a banner that read “Truth for Giulio Regeni.”

Regeni’s body was discovered on a highway days after his disappearance in Cairo on January 25, 2016. He had been in the Egyptian capital to study the union activities of street vendors as part of his doctoral thesis. His mother revealed that his body was so mutilated by torture that she could only recognize the tip of his nose. Human rights activists noted that the injuries resembled those associated with widespread torture by the Egyptian Security Agency.

This marks the second trial for the four Egyptian security officers, as the initial trial in 2021 was interrupted on the opening day, with doubts about whether the defendants had been officially informed of the charges. In September, Italy’s Constitutional Court ruled that the trial could proceed despite the lack of official notification, as Egyptian authorities had refused to provide addresses.

The accused include Major Sherif Magdy, Police Major General Tareq Saber, Colonel Hesham Helmy, and Colonel Acer Kamal. Egyptian authorities initially claimed that Regeni was a victim of common thieves. The incident strained relations between Italy and Egypt, prompting Italy to withdraw its ambassador to pressure Egypt to cooperate with the investigation. The trial raises hopes for justice in a case that has garnered international attention and highlighted concerns about human rights abuses.