Egyptian union head reported Italian student to police before murder

Paola Regeni (R), mother of Giulio Regeni, the Italian student murdered in Egypt, looks on during a news conference at the upper house of the parliament in Rome, Italy, March 29, 2016. To match Special Report EGYPT-REGENI/ REUTERS/Staff/File Photo

ROME (Reuters) - The head of Egypt's independent union of street vendors reported Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni to police a few weeks before he disappeared and was murdered, an Egyptian prosecutor said in Rome.

The body of Regeni, 28, was found on the side of a roadway on the outskirts of Cairo on Feb. 3, more than a week after he vanished. The body showed signs of torture, including cigarette burns, cuts and contusions.