Giulio Regeni: Cambridge student 'tortured to death for being British spy'

'We thought he was an English spy, we took him ... and after loading him in the car we had to beat him', witness allegedly says

Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93


Giulio Regeni's body was found with broken bones and shattered teeth, and letters had been carved into his skin ( )

A Cambridge University student who was tortured to death in Egypt was murdered because he was suspected of being a British spy, according to a report in an Italian newspaper.

Giulio Regeni, an Italian man who was 28 at the time of his death, went missing in January 2016 before his body was discovered more than a week later at roadside in Cairo.

His body showed signs of torture, having suffered broken bones and shattered teeth, and letters had been carved into his skin.

Mr Regeni’s family believe he was killed by Egypt’s security services because he was researching labour unions which had opposed president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as part of his PhD at Cambridge University‘s Girton College.

Now a new witness has come forward and told Mr Regeni’s family he overheard an Egyptian intelligence agent speaking about “the Italian guy” and saying the student had been beaten because he was thought to be a British spy.

“We thought he was an English spy, we took him, I went and after loading him in the car we had to beat him,” the intelligence agent allegedly said, according to the Correre della Sera newspaper. 

“I hit him in the face,” the agent reportedly added.

The conversation is said to have taken place at a police convention in an unnamed African country in 2017.

The Egyptian agent’s name was passed to Italian prosecutors, who believe the evidence is credible.

They have requested Egyptian prosecutors outline the agent’s whereabouts at the time of the alleged conversation in 2017.

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Egypt has strenuously denied its security services were involved in Mr Regeni’s death, and initially said he died in a car accident before blaming a gang for his murder.

Italy recalled its ambassador to Cairo in April 2016 in protest at the slow pace of the probe into Mr Regeni’s death, though a replacement was sent a year later.

Lawyer investigating death of Cambridge student in Egypt disappears

Egypt police investigate news agency over article on student’s death

Turkey officials order re-run of Istanbul election, voiding win for Erdogan opposition

"We are thirsty for justice," opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu says

DICTATOR ERDOGAN FAILS TO WIN RIGGED ELECTION DEMANDS DO OVER 

Borzou DaragahiIstanbul @borzou
10 hours ago


Getty

Turkish authorities on Monday ordered a redo of an election won by an opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political party, snatching away a major victory from the country’s opposition.

Under heavy pressure by Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) Turkey’s High Election Commission (YSK), which is described as packed with the president’s loyalists, cancelled the results of 31 March Istanbul mayoral elections narrowly won by Ekrem Imamoglu, a rising star in the Turkish opposition.

The news was reported by Turkey's state-run Anatolia News Agency. It sent the Turkish lira, already battered by inflation and high borrowing costs, tumbling. 

Mr Imamoglu appearing before a crowd of supporters struck a defiant tone.

"We won this election by the hard work of millions of people; they attempted to steal our rightfully won elections," he said. "We are thirsty for justice. The decision-makers in this country may be in a state unawareness, error or even treason, but we will never give up."
As shock and anger over the news spread, supporters of Mr Imamoglu began banging pots and pans in a cacophony of peaceful protest throughout the city.

"One of the worst days for Turkey’s beleaguered democracy," wrote Asli Adintasbas, a journalist and commentator.

Mr Imamoglu was handed the mandate to govern last month, lifting the spirits of Erdogan’s opponents, despite vague and unsubstantiated accusations of cheating and election fraud by the AKP and its loyalists.

Mr Imamoglu’s victory marked the first time in 25 years that Istanbul, a city of 16 million that is Turkey's economic powerhouse, fell out of the hands of Mr Erdogan’s political party. The AKP also lost control of the capital, Ankara, for the first time in 25 years but with a much larger margin. 

The YSK overturned the election results on a technicality, arguing that some of those who served on election boards in the city were not civil servants. Mr Imamoglu mocked the ruling. "With the same election rules, a president has been elected, a referendum has been held, so there is also uncertainty over the Constitution and the President's position," he said.

Mr Imamoglu's opponent, Binali Yilidrim, said he would wait for the final election commission ruling to emerge before weighing in.

 Istanbul is a major source of patronage cash, with real-estate deals used to seal ties between the AKP and developers who are the pillar of the party. Municipal election losses enraged AKP supporters, causing division within the party's ranks. 

While new elections -- said to scheduled for either 23 June or 7 July -- could bring Istanbul back under the control of the AKP, it also carries political risk, should the party lose by even a larger margin. Already the party's handling of the election loss had made it look petty and power hungry, while cementing the unflappable Mr Imamoglu's stature as a national political phenomenon.

"The AKP has single-handedly created a hero of the people as the economy crashes around them," wrote commentator and frequent AKP critic Can Okar. "This is how the end begins."

AND PREDICTABLY THE DICTATOR OF TURKEY SAYS

Erdogan backs re-run of Istanbul vote after 'organized corruption'

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the decision to re-run Istanbul's mayoral election was an important step toward strengthening democracy, describing the March vote as marred by "organized corruption" and illegality.

NANAIMO BYELECTION
May 6, 2019

Greens claim historic 2nd federal seat with upset byelection win in Nanaimo-Ladysmith

By Richard Zussman and Simon Little Global NewsUpdated: May 6, 2019 11:07 pm

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is about to get some company in Ottawa.

The Green Party’s Paul Manly has won the Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection, breaking through to win the party`s second seat in the House of Commons.

Manly becomes the second-ever federal Green Party candidate in Canada`s history to win an election, taking home more than 37 per cent of the vote.

WATCH: One-on-one interview with MP-Elect Paul Manly of the Green Party

Blair Wilson and Bruce Hyer both served as Green MPs but jumped to the party after winning elections for other parties.

Manly told cheering supporters that Monday’s win was the result of a positive campaign based on ideas.

“How we can change the economy that we are working in to protect the environment that we need for our health, for our children, for our grandchildren. How we can do a better job of taking care of people, those that are less fortunate,” he said.

“I’ve been working with people who have suffered, who have been homeless not of their own fault at all because of the way the economy has moved in this community. With the housing boom, stagnant wages. We know we can do better,” he said.

Manly maintained a double digit lead throughout the evening, and was on track to beat the second place finisher by close to 15 per cent.




Green Party Canada
✔@CanadianGreens
Greens across the country right now. We did it! #NanaimoLadysmith #cdnpoli #GreenWave #GreensWin
178
10:59 PM - May 6, 2019
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Manly was the only byelection candidate who ran in the 2015 general election in Nanaimo-Ladysmith.

In the that federal general election, the Greens finished fourth with 19.2 per cent, the strongest finish from a fourth place candidate in Canada.

The result is a serious blow to the NDP, who many pundits had favoured to win the byelection.

With nearly all the votes counted, the party looked likely to finish a disappointing third place, with about 23.5 per cent of the vote.




Richard Zussman
✔@richardzussman

.@ChiefBobbyc opens speech congratulating @paulmanly. Says NDP has the ‘clear foresight for what this country needs’ #CDNpoli
1
11:04 PM - May 6, 2019

Under leader Jagmeet Singh the party has now lost two held ridings: Nanaimo-Ladysmith and Outremont, former leader Thomas Mulcair’s seat that fell in February.

WATCH: Paul Manly on what changes he wants to see, now the he is an MP-elect

The loss stalls the third party at 40 seats across the country and loosens the stranglehold the party has on Vancouver Island. The Greens now hold two seats on the Island, compared to the five held by the NDP.

Chamberlin, a well known First Nations leader, is expected to run for the party again in October`s general election.

READ MORE: Voters head to polls for byelection in Nanaimo, an important indicator ahead of federal vote

Conservative candidate John Hirst did well in the north part of the riding, and while he earned more than 24 per cent of the vote — an improvement on the Conservatives’ 23.4 per cent in 2015 — he could not gather enough support in the rest of riding for a win.

Hirst, a father of six-month-old and two-year-old children, was taking his first crack at electoral politics and wants to consult with his family before committing to a run in the fall.

Liberal candidate Michelle Corfield finished fourth, a significant drop for the party that finished second in the riding four years ago. The Liberals tallied less than 11 per cent of the vote, less than half the 23.5 per cent they managed in 2015.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was required to call the byelection after Sheila Malcolmson resigned the seat in January. Malcolmson stepped down after she won the provincial byelecton in January.

Nanaimo voters will return to the ballot box in just five months, for the Oct. 21 general election.


© 2019 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

XI'S CULTURAL REVOLUTION 

China's social media 'army' of trolls wages war on Uighurs.

The Diba Central Army, a Chinese patriotic group, has been bombarding the Facebook pages of two pro-Uighur groups with an array of verbal grenades and offensive images.

Full story: http://u.afp.com/JY8L

AFP factfile on a 2018 report by Amnesty International on the "massive crackdown" of one million Muslims in China's western Xinjiang region