Italian prosecutors seek heavy prison sentences for Egyptian security officials in Regeni murder

Italian prosecutors have requested a life sentence for an Egyptian intelligence officer and long prison terms for three other security officials in the case of Giulio Regeni, the Italian student abducted, tortured and killed in Cairo in 2016.

Scraper SystemJune 24, 2026, 11:25 AM

Italian prosecutors seek heavy prison sentences for Egyptian security officials in Regeni murder

Italian prosecutors have requested heavy prison sentences for four Egyptian security officials in connection with the death of Giulio Regeni, an Italian doctoral student who disappeared in Cairo in 2016 and was found brutally tortured.

During a hearing at the court in Rome, prosecutors sought a life sentence for Major Magdi Sharif of the Egyptian General Intelligence. They also requested 17 years and six months in prison for former state security chief Major General Tarek Sabir, police Colonel Hisham Helmy, and former Cairo investigation chief Colonel Ather Kamal.

The four Egyptian officials have never publicly responded to the charges and are being tried in absentia under Italian law. Egypt has denied any state involvement, claiming Regeni was killed by gang members.

Deputy chief prosecutor Sergio Colaiacco told the court, "What is being tried here is not a simple act of ending a human life. What is being tried here is the methodical, cold-blooded and organized use of violence against a defenseless man." Colaiacco added, "The dramatic truth is that this crime was not committed by ordinary criminals, but by those entrusted with the legitimate use of state power."

Autopsy photos shown in court for the first time

With the consent of Regeni's family, prosecutors presented autopsy images in court for the first time. Colaiacco stated that the wounds proved Regeni was tortured over several days while fully conscious. The prosecutor said, "Giulio experienced everything consciously. Without sedatives, without medication, without any relief. These were not beatings; this was a method of annihilation."

The case has strained relations between Italy and Egypt for years. Italian prosecutors allege that Regeni's research on independent trade unions in Egypt drew the attention of security forces. The trial began in 2021 but was suspended following legal objections. It resumed in February 2024 after Italy's High Court ruled that Egypt's failure to cooperate in locating the suspects should not obstruct the proceedings.

Colaiacco said the Egyptian administration deliberately protected those responsible: "The Egyptian regime did not want to investigate. It chose to protect the torturers. It did not hold its officers accountable for the atrocities committed. It consciously chose to cover them up."

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Italian prosecutors seek heavy prison sentences for Egyptian security officials in Regeni murder