Student's death: Egypt denies Italy's demand for phone records

Egypt has rejected Italy's demand for phone records of Egyptian citizens in the case of the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni, an Egyptian prosecutor told a press conference in Cairo on Saturday.

"The Egyptian side did not reject the request out of obstinacy or hiding, but in accordance with the Egyptian constitution and law," assistant public prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman told reporters on the results of the recent visit of an Egyptian judicial and security delegation to Rome over Regeni's case.

The Egyptian official said Egypt rejected the Italian demand as it is against Egyptian laws, and it is the only Italian request that has not been met by the Egyptian side, explaining the demand might include a million phone calls and it is illegal to reveal them to a foreign side, Xinhua reported.

Regeni's half-naked, tortured body was found in early February on a distant roadside in Cairo, nine days after his disappearance in the Egyptian capital city.

The ambiguous death of Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian PhD student who has been in Egypt for a research, cast shadow on the Italian-Egyptian relations as Italy showed dissatisfaction with the Egyptian probe into the case.

On Friday, Italy recalled its ambassador to Cairo for consultations after the departure of the Egyptian visiting delegation from Rome.