Italy summons Egyptian ambassador over student's death

Italy’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Egyptian ambassador to Rome to express concern regarding the discovery of the body of an Italian student who went missing in Cairo on 25 January.

The Italian Foreign Ministry has demanded the Egyptian authorities form a joint investigation committee, which would include Italian experts, to uncover further details about the student’s death.

Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian graduate studying for his PhD at Cambridge University, went missing on the fifth anniversary of the January 25 Revolution. His body was found on Thursday lying on the side of a Cairo highway showing signs of torture.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Thursday tried to downplay the summoning of its ambassador, releasing a statement that said: “The purpose of this action might be to inquire about something, to request a meeting, to deliver an invitation or express discomfort for one reason or another.”

In a related development, the Italian Minister of Economic Development Federica Gwede unexpectedly left Cairo on Thursday. It was not made clear whether the minister had cut her visit short due to the death of the Italian student.

Egypt’s initial investigations ruled out a political motive behind the student’s murder.