Italy-Egypt ties go frosty after murder of PhD student

The murder of Guilio Regeni an Italian PhD student of the Cambridge University now clouds the relationship between Egypt and Italy.

Reports say Regeni who worked in Egypt as a freelance writer had feared for his life before he was found dead in Cairo with evident signs of body torture.

Read also: IS militants gun. Down 2 Egyptian policemen

Authorities in Italy have responded with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi calling Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi demanding that Regani’s body be immediately repatriated for Italian investigators to be given access to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

It could be recalled that Renzi was the first Western leader to receive Sisi after the 2013 overthrow of his civilian predecessor, Mohamed Morsi.

An Italian newspaper the Communist Il Manifesto said on Thursday that Giulio Regeni, 28, wrote several stories on workers’ rights and underground workers’ union in Egypt using a pseudonym.

Continuing, the newspaper said in a bid to give more details on the last hours of his life, the paper will publish Regeni’s last report on Friday.

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