Italian MPs request formation of inquiry committee to investigate murder of student in Cairo

A group of Italian lawmakers submitted a request to the parliament on Tuesday demanding to set up a parliamentary committee to investigate the murder of research student Giulio Regeni in Cairo.

Italian television reported Erasmo Plazzotto, deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee, which submitted the request, as saying that the committee will help uncover the political motives behind Regeni’s murder.

He explained that the committee will include 20 deputies and will also draw Italy’s attention to the issue of human rights in Egypt.

The public prosecutor of Rome said on Sunday that the Egyptian authorities were misleading the investigation by claiming that Regeni was murdered by a gang.

Italian research student Regeni was found dead in a Cairo suburb in February, with his body bearing signs of severe torture.