Members of a gang that the Egyptian government claimed were behind the murder of an Italian student in Cairo were unarmed and fleeing as police shot them, witnesses have claimed.
Family members of those killed said that the men were painters and decorators on their way to a job.
On the day that Giulio Regeni disappeared from central Cairo, the men were two hours’ drive away at a family gathering after a bereavement, according to the widow of one of those killed.
The accounts raise further questions about Egypt’s official narrative that criminals killed Regeni, 28. The University of Cambridge PhD student’s tortured body was discovered in February, eight days after he went missing.
An Italian investigation pointed to the involvement of Egyptian security forces, which Cairo vehemently denied.
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Last month the Egyptian government claimed to have found and eliminated Regeni’s killers — a gang of five men who dressed as policemen to rob foreigners. Regeni’s missing passport, ID cards and wallet were found at the gang’s family home in the Nile Delta.
The group comprised Tareq Saad, 62, his son, Saad, and son-in-law, Salah Ali, along with Mustafa Bakr, a family friend, and Ibrahim Farouk, 26, a minibus driver.
The Italians dismissed the claims and demanded that the investigation be reopened. Rome later recalled its ambassador to Cairo after Egypt refused to disclose vital phone records.
Two witnesses said that seven police vehicles surrounded a minibus in which the accused men were travelling and opened fire. Several men jumped out only to be shot dead, one of the witnesses said. Four other witnesses added that the police confiscated footage from security cameras.
Rasha Tareq Saad, the wife of Salah and daughter of Tareq, told The Times that the group were travelling to New Cairo for a job. She said that she called her husband at about 8am. However, it was not his voice on the end of the phone.
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“Instead I heard my brother talking to someone saying ‘Sir, I’ll do whatever you want I swear, but let us go’.” Then the line went dead.
She said she had no idea how Regeni’s IDs appeared in her relative’s flat but the other items in the police photos— allegedly belonging to other crime victims — belonged to her family.
“I am accusing the interior ministry of trying to cover up their wrong deeds by killing my family,” Mrs Saad said.
She added that since the shooting other members of her family had been arrested.
The Egyptian police said that they could not comment on the allegations because the investigation was now with the prosecutor-general.
