Rome, January 21 (LaPresse) – "When we brought Giulio's body back to Italy, I saw him for the first time, only the frontal profile, on the table in the mortuary at the Umberto I Polyclinic in Rome. At that moment, I thought and exclaimed, 'What did they do to you?'" These were the words of Paola Deffendi, Giulio Regeni's mother, as she testified before the judges of the first Assize Court of Rome.
Her testimony is taking place in the bunker courtroom in Rebibbia during the hearing of the trial for the abduction, torture, and murder of Giulio Regeni, who was killed in Cairo, Egypt. The defendants include General Tariq Sabir and officers Athar Kamal, Uhsam Helmi, and Magdi Ibrahim Abdel Sharif, all members of Egyptian intelligence services.
Responding to questions from prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco, Giulio's mother added: "Looking at Giulio's body, I said, 'You went to Egypt full of passion, and this is what they did to you.' Then I realized: 'At that moment, I saw all the brutality inflicted on him.'"