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Italy will not give up in Regeni murder case, says parliamentary Speaker

May 27, 2021 at 3:55 pm

Candlelight procession in Italy for Italian student Giulio Regeni who was murdered in Egypt, 3 July 2020 [Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency]

The Speaker of the Italian House of Representatives has said that anyone who believes that Italy will give up on the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni is completely wrong. Roberto Fico made his comment on Facebook.

“Today is an important and symbolic day,” wrote Fico, “because with the trial of four Egyptian National Security officers we take another crucial step in our quest for the truth about the kidnapping, torture and killing of Giulio Regeni.”

On Tuesday, the Italian prosecutors asked a judge to press official charges and refer four senior officers of the Egyptian security services for trial on suspicion of taking part in the disappearance and murder of PhD student Regeni in Cairo in 2016.

“I would like to thank the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Rome for the long, complex and meticulous work during these years,” said Fico. “My appreciation also goes out to all the people who fought and continue to fight for the truth, starting with Giulio’s parents… Now a new phase begins, a process where more pieces can come together. Anyone who believed that Italy would give up was wrong. All institutions are working in a climate of maximum solidarity and unity.”

Prosecutors in Rome have accused four Egyptian officials of kidnapping Regeni and inflicting “aggravated harm” on him. One of the four, Major Magdy Sherif, an officer in the General Intelligence Directorate, is also accused of “planning to commit premeditated murder”.

Giulio Regeni was a graduate student at the University of Cambridge. He disappeared in the Egyptian capital in January 2016 while doing some academic research. His body was found about a week later and an autopsy showed that he had been tortured before his death.

READ: Italy judge orders 4 Egypt officers to stand trial in Regeni murder case