The Egyptian interior ministry
said in a statement Friday that the passport of tortured and
murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni was found in the home of
the sister of a gang member, who was killed by security forces
along with fellow suspects in a shootout with police on
Thursday.
The Cambridge doctoral researcher's severely burned and
mutilated body was found in a ditch on the road to Alexandria on
February 3, nine days after he disappeared on January 25, the
heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted
former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
The alleged criminal gang would dress up as cops to kidnap
foreigners, the ministry said.
Police searched the home of the sister of the suspected
ringleader, named as Rasha Saad Abdel Fatah, 34, because
"investigations uncovered evidence he went to see her from time
to time", the ministry said.
She lives in the Nile Delta north of Cairo, it said.
"Security forces have finished their investigation and
apprised the Italian side of the results," the ministry said.
"We thank the Italian side for its full cooperation...
(which) contributed to this result," Egyptian news agency MENA
cited the ministry as saying on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Adjunct Interior Minister Abu Bakr
Abdelkarim said "We cannot say whether or not (the gang) is
responsible for Regeni's death - the case is still under
investigation".
On Friday, Senate foreign committee chair Pier Ferdinando
Casini said the Egyptian statement left him "very perplexed".
"We are waiting to get more detailed information from
Egyptian authorities," Casini said.
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