Mariam Moustafa death: Rome prosecutor opens investigation

Mariam Moustafa, 18, was attacked by a group of girls before boarding a bus in Nottingham

Prosecutors in Rome have opened an investigation into the death of an 18-year-old student in Nottingham.

Mariam Moustafa, an Egyptian national who was born in Rome, died on Wednesday after she was assaulted by a group of women on 20 February.

The Rome prosecutor has asked the UK authorities to share details of the investigation, Italian media reported.

The Italian foreign ministry said the ambassador to the UK was closely following the investigation.

A post-mortem examination into Miss Moustafa's death was inconclusive.

UK police said more tests would take place to establish if there was a link between the assault and her death.

Investigators said they were keeping an "open mind" about whether the attack on Miss Moustafa, an engineering student at Nottingham College was racially motivated.

A 17-year-old girl, who was arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, remains on bail.

The case has caused alarm in Egypt and authorities there have also asked British officials for more information about the investigation.

Mariam Moustafa was in a coma in hospital for three weeks after the attack

Miss Moustafa's family said she was attacked about 20:00 GMT, taken to hospital and then discharged at about 02:00 that night.

She was taken back to hospital later that day and died more than three weeks later at Nottingham City Hospital.

Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust said its "initial review of this tragic case does not indicate any significant untoward incident on the trust's part, however we will fully examine the family's concerns".

Nottinghamshire Police said Miss Moustafa was "punched several times" while waiting for a bus outside the Victoria Centre in Parliament Street.

In a statement, the force said she had got on a bus but was followed "by the same group of women who were threatening and abusive towards her before they got off".