Egypt prosecutors order detention of slain Italian's lawyer

CAIRO – Egyptian prosecutors on Wednesday ordered the detention of a lawyer who assisted the family of an Italian graduate student killed under suspicious circumstances during a police crackdown in Cairo, accusing him of disseminating fake news.

Ibrahim Metwally, an advocate for victims of enforced disappearances, was arrested at Cairo International Airport three days ago while traveling to Geneva to speak at a United Nations meeting on the topic. He himself was considered disappeared until now, since he was initially held incommunicado, without access to lawyers or family.

Metwally had provided legal services to the family of Giulio Regeni, a researcher on labor unions who disappeared on Jan. 25, 2016 in Cairo and was later found tortured to death, causing a diplomatic row and uproar in Italy.