Seven months after the abduction, torture and killing of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in Cairo a new online petition has been launched as part of a joint effort by Italian Senator Luigi Monconi, Regeni’s parents and Amnesty Italy, to prevent the country’s new ambassador going to Cairo.
Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt in April after no progress was made during the investigation into Regeni’s death. The 28-year-old was last seen alive on the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, 25 January 2016, and was later found on the desert road between Cairo and Alexandria with his fingernails ripped out, broken ribs and cigarette burns on his body. An autopsy confirmed that he had died of a brain haemorrhage as a result of the torture he suffered.
The investigation into his death is ongoing with Egyptian and Italian prosecutors set to meet for the third time in Rome on 8 and 9 September. Meanwhile, a Cairo court today ruled to extend the detention of Ahmed Abdullah, the human rights worker and Regeni family lawyer, for a further 45 days.