Body of national who died in Italian prison to be returned to Egypt

CAIRO – 7 March 2017: The corpse of Hany Hanafi, an Egyptian citizen who died in an Italian prison, will be returned to Egypt after being autopsied in a hospital in southern Italy, Walid al-Hariri, head of the Reunion Association in Paris,

told Youm7

Tuesday.

Hariri said Hanafi’s brother, who works for Hariri, will accompany the corpse to Egypt, adding that the Egyptian Embassy in Rome will receive it by the end of the day.

Hariri also confirmed that Italian authorities have refused to reveal the autopsy report to the Egyptian authorities so rumors that Hanafi was tortured cannot be confirmed or denied.

Hanafi’s body is expected to reach Egypt by the end of the day Tuesday and will be buried in his hometown, Egypt’s Mediterranean city of Alexandria.

Sunday, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry demanded the Egyptian Embassy in Rome communicate with Italian authorities to confirm circumstances of Hanafi’s death and conduct a full investigation into Hanafi and his case before his death.

Italian authorities said Hanafi was sentenced in 2014 to four years in prison over assaulting an Italian police officer and was supposed to be released in 2018.

According to Italian daily newspaper

Giornale di Sicilia

, 30-year-old Hanafi committed suicide in his prison cell in Caltanissetta. The newspaper said it was the 11th incident of its time since the beginning of the year.