Italy's deputy general prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco arrived in Cairo Tuesday with an Italian delegation for updates on the murder of Italian student Guilio Regeni's case, a judicial source confirmed to Ahram Online. According to the source, the Italian deputy is set to meet a number of Egyptian prosecutors. This will be the fourth meeting in six months between Egyptian and Italian prosecutors and investigators to discuss findings in the Regini case. The previous meetings were held in Cairo on 14 March and in Rome on 7 April and 9 September. Tuesday's visit is the first by a Rome official since Egypt's general prosecutor Nabil Sadek revealed last September to his Italian counterparts that Egyptian police had investigated Regeni before his murder but suspended their operation after three days. Sadek told his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Pignatone that police investigations into Regeni's activities started after he was "reported" to the authorities in early January by the head of Egypt's independent union for street vendors. Regeni, who was in Cairo conducting research on independent trade unions, went missing on 25 January. His body was found, bearing signs of torture, on a roadside on the outskirts of Cairo on 3 February. Regeni's murder has strained ties in an otherwise close relationship between Rome and Cairo. Egypt strongly denies claims that security forces were involved in Regeni's murder. Italian officials had publicly criticised Cairo's investigations, saying they were being conducted in a way that shows a lack of transparency. In April, the Italian government recalled their ambassador to Cairo. However, in May, a new Italian ambassador, Giampaolo Cantini, was assigned to Cairo, but has not yet taken up residence in Egypt. Last June, the Italian Parliament decided to suspend the supply of spare parts for F16 warplanes to Egypt, the first commercial measure taken by Italy against Egypt over the issue. Italy's move was described by Egypt as “regrettable.” Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has repeatedly stated in interviews that the Regeni murder should not affect Egypt-Italian relations.
