Egypt announces new commission to investigate Giulio Regeni murder

Egypt's prosecutor general on Wednesday said a new commission will be established to look into the 2016 killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni, a day after Italy's premier visited Cairo.

A new commission will be tasked with "establishing the truth... in full neutrality and independence", prosecutor Hamada Sawy said in a statement.

Giulio Regeni, then aged 28, disappeared in Cairo in January 2016. His body was found on the outskirts of Cairo a few days later, mutilated and showing signs of torture.

After Regeni's body was repatriated, an autopsy found numerous fractures, including of the skull, indicating that he had died under torture.

Egypt has faced accusations that a member of its security forces murdered the student, who was researching trade unions -- a sensitive topic in the country.

Cairo has denied those claims, first saying he had died in a traffic accident then saying he had been killed by a criminal gang.

Wednesday's announcement came the day after Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

In a statement, Sisi voiced his support for cooperation between Egyptian and Italian authorities "in their investigation into the circumstances of the Regeni case."

The case strained the traditionally close relations between Cairo and Rome, which has accused Egypt of insufficient cooperation in the investigation.

In April 2016, Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt, only sending a new one almost a year later.

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