World Rome trial opens for 4 members of Egyptian security forces

ROME (AP) — The trial of four high-ranking members of Egypt’s security forces started Thursday without the Egyptians on hand to face charges they were involved in the abduction, torture and killing in Cairo of an Italian doctoral student.

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from left, mother Paola Deffendi, Giulio's sister Irene, and father Claudio Regeni arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

© Provided by Associated Press Lawyer Tranquillino Sarno, defender of Egyptian security forces official Mohammad Ibrahim Atar Kamel, arrives at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Giulio Regeni’s parents and sister walked into the Rome courthouse without making a statement. The Italian government announced on the eve of the trial that it would join the trial's civil portion as an injured party in the case.

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ROME (AP) — Left-leaning Italian lawmakers and politicians on Sunday called for measures to outlaw pro-fascism groups a day after anti-vaccine protesters, incited by extreme-right leaders, stormed a union office in Rome. Twelve protesters were either detained or arrested, authorities said Sunday, including Giuliano Castellino, leader of the extreme-right Forza Nuova party. Some 10,000 demonstrators turned out Saturday to express their outrage at a government-imposed requirement that employees have a “Green Pass” to enter their workplaces starting next Friday.

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, mother Paola Deffendi, Giulio's sister Irene, and father Claudio Regeni arrive arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini, left, at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

In December, Italian prosecutors formally put the four Egyptians under investigation for their alleged roles in the 2016 slaying of Regeni, and a judge ordered them to stand trial in May. It has always been expected that they would be tried in absentia.

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All Italians will soon need to show a "Green Pass," proving COVID-19 vaccination, recent recovery or a negative test, to go to work. The leader of a neo-fascist group was among those arrested.What started off as a restless but peaceful demonstration against the looming measure in Rome's Piazza del Popolo ended up sparking a tinderbox when an offshoot of protesters stormed the headquarters of CGIL, Italy's oldest and biggest labor union.

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from left, mother Paola Deffendi, Giulio's sister Irene, and father Claudio Regeni arrive at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Regeni’s body was found on a highway days after he disappeared in the Egyptian capital on Jan. 25, 2016. He was in Cairo to research union activities among street vendors as part of his doctoral thesis.

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, Giulio's sister Irene, mother Paola Deffendi, and father Claudio Regeni, arrive arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

His mother has said his body was so mutilated by torture that she was only able to recognize the tip of his nose when she viewed it. Human rights activists have said the marks on his body resembled those resulting from widespread torture in Egyptian facilities.

Italian court tries Egyptian officers over student's murder

Four Egyptian security officers will go on trial in absentia in Italy Thursday for the brutal killing in Cairo five years ago of Italian student Giulio Regeni. The officers stand accused of kidnapping, conspiracy to murder and grievous bodily harm in the case, which sparked outrage in Italy and has strained diplomatic relations with Egypt. Regeni, 28, who was doing research for a doctorate at Cambridge University, was abducted in January 2016. His body, bearing extensive signs of torture, was eventually found dumped on the outskirts of Cairo.

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from left, father Claudio Regeni, mother Paola Deffendi, and Giulio's sister Irene, arrive at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Egyptian authorities have alleged that the Cambridge University doctoral student fell victim to ordinary robbers.

© Provided by Associated Press Paola Regeni, mother of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, arrives at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

The case strained relations between Italy and Egypt, an ally for Rome in efforts to combat terrorism. At one point, Italy withdrew its ambassador to press for Egyptian cooperation in the investigation.

Sadat's nephew negotiates way out for Egypt prisoners

The fate of dissidents languishing in Egypt's prisons has long been under scrutiny, but one veteran is leveraging his political prowess in a bid to have them released. Mohamed al-Sadat, 66, nephew of former president Anwar al-Sadat, the first Arab leader to strike peace with Israel, has long been a fixture of Egypt's political scene. Now, he has become an unofficial negotiator advocating on behalf of figures imprisoned under the uncompromising administration of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi."Dialogue with the state's institutions isn't just a one-man job, there are many others in close contact...

© Provided by Associated Press Prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco arrives at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to preside over the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

On the eve of the trial, the president of Italy's lower chamber of deputies, Roberto Fico, sent his support to Regeni's parents “for their tenacity and their humanity."

© Provided by Associated Press The family of slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, from right, mother Paola Regeni, Giulio's sister Irene, and father Claudio arrive with their lawyer Alessandra Ballerini, fourth from right, at the Rebibbia prison in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, to attend the first hearing of the trial for the death of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni, who disappeared for several days in January 2016 before his body was found on a desert highway north of the Egyptian capital. Italian prosecutors have formally put four high-ranking members of Egypt's security forces under investigation for their alleged roles in the slaying. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

“If we look back over the years, and think of the enormous effort it took to get here, to reconstruct a plot despite Egyptian misdirections and resistances of all kinds, we understand how important and full of meaning" the opening of the trial really is.

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The track leads to Hamburg - a viral gone Kardashian photo of the Met-Gala 2018 was the last note that the New York investigators needed. © Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images The annual Met-Gala is one of the most discussed Sofoen, and for countless reasons - especially the looks on the red carpet, which was grabbed months long. But it is not always about the extravagant fashion.