'Disgraceful campaign' agst Regeni tutor (3)

(ANSA) - London, January 17 - The university of Cambridge on Wednesday denounced what it said was a "disgraceful campaign of denigration, fuelled by political convenience" against Giulio Regeni's former supervisor, Dr Maha Abdelrahman. It said this came against the background of "an apparent absence of investigative progress". In a statement, Vice-Chancellor Stephen J. Toope reiterated Abdelrahmand's intention to collaborate fully with the probe into the Italian student's torture and murder in Cairo in early 2016. But he deplored leaks from the probe.
    On Janury 11 the British university said it was planning to set up a scholarship in the name of Regeni, who was doing research for his Cambridge PhD, university press office spokesman Angel Gurria told ANSA.
    Gurria said the university was working on the initiative to honour the PhD student who was doing research on Egyptian streetseller trade unions when he was abducted two years ago.
    Regeni's former supervisor, Dr Abdelrahman, is "fully cooperating" with Rome prosecutors in their probe into his death, the university told ANSA in a statement.
    Dr Abdelrahman answered "all the questions" put to her by the prosecutors on January 9, and said she had "voluntarily handed over the documents requested" when her home and office were searched on January 10.
    The university said it, too, would fully cooperate with the probe.
    The university had been criticised in Italy for allegedly being tight-lipped on the case.
    Italian media also reported that Abdelrahman's files were seized because she had again failed to answer questions.
    Regeni was abducted on January 25, 2016, the heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that toppled former strongman Hosni Mubarak.
    His tortured body was found on the road to Alexandria on February 3.
    Egyptian security forces, who are frequently accused of brutally repressing opponents, have said they had no part in the death of the Friuli-born researcher, whose work on trade unions was politically sensitive.
    In the search of Dr Abdelrahman's home and office, Rome prosecutors seized a PC, pen drive, hard disk and cellphone.
    Dr Abdelrahman reportedly told the prosecutors Regeni had freely chosen his PhD subject.