Italy calls on Egypt to provide ‘prompt answers’ regarding student’s murder

The Italian government said yesterday that it was not giving up on finding those responsible for the murder of Giulio Regeni, the Italian PhD student whose body was found on the side of a road in in Cairo in 2016.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote to his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, to reiterate that Italian prosecutors want information on five Egyptian officials they are investigating for their suspected links to Regeni’s death.

“The lack of answers from the Egyptian judicial authorities to the requests from Italian prosecutors represents a serious impediment to the establishment of the truth on Regeni’s death,” Di Maio wrote.

“This is why we need a quick response regarding [the requests], particularly concerning the notification of the legal residence of the people under investigation,” he added.

READ: Italy must halt arms deal with Egypt to uphold human rights 

In 2016, Regeni was in Cairo to conduct research on trade unions when he went missing. His body was found days later bearing signs of torture.

Last week, it emerged that the Italian government intends to sell two military ships to Egypt, despite Cairo’s lack of cooperation in the Regeni case.

Regeni’s mother has said that Italy has betrayed her family by inking the deal.

Since her son’s brutal death, rights activists along with his family have tried to pressure the Italian government to put the brakes on their relationship with Egypt until his murder is resolved.