Italy rejects Egypt’s decision to close Regeni murder case, vows to escalate

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its rejection of the Egyptian Public Prosecution’s decision to close the investigation into the murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni.

The ministry announced in a statement: “The allegations of the Public Prosecution in Egypt regarding the tragic death of Regeni in 2016 are unacceptable,” reported Italian news agency ACI.

The statement called on Cairo to share information on the case with Rome, and to cooperate with the Italian public prosecutor’s office with the aim of finding the truth, while pledging to resolve the issue through international diplomatic channels, including the European Union.

In the same context, Spokesman for Amnesty International in Italy Ricardo Nuri indicated: “The statement of the Egyptian public prosecution is unacceptable, and we hope that the Italian government will take a position against it,” according to Anadolu Agency.

Member of European Parliament Pierfrancesco Majorino considered the statements of the Egyptian attorney general on the case: “A hostile and unacceptable act against Italy and the prosecutor’s office in Rome, as well as an insult to the European Parliament.”

Italy PM: Trial for Regeni murder will reach ‘shocking’ truth

Head of the Italian parliamentary committee that investigates the case, Erasmo Palazzo, described the Egyptian statement as “another shameful attempt to mislead.”

On Wednesday, the Egyptian prosecutor announced that: “There is no point in instituting criminal proceedings in the incident of killing, detaining and torturing Regeni temporarily, due to failure to identify the perpetrator.”

The Egyptian prosecutor added: “The charges attributed to four officers and a police officer affiliated with national security services in that incident were nullified, and it turned out that there is no reason to institute criminal proceedings in the case of theft of the victim’s movable property under duress, due to the death of the perpetrators.”

On 10 December, the Italian Public Prosecution charged four Egyptian police officers Tarek Saber, Aser Kamal, Hossam Helmy and Magdy Sherif with torturing and killing Regeni.

The Italian Attorney General Miguel Priestpino Garreta gave the four defendants 20 days to respond to the charges against them, stressing that Regeni’s murder case will be referred to trial in absentia in early 2021.

Video evidence proves Regeni was monitored at least 40 days before his death