Regeni case remains open: Egypt FM

Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that the case of the Italian student who was killed in Cairo in January remains open, state owned MENA agency reported.

The Egyptian FM said at a press conference that there is keenness from the Egyptian and Italian sides to reach the truth and determine the culprits behind the murder of 28-year-old PhD student Giulio Regeni.

He stressed that “exceptional” cooperation was still ongoing between Egyptian and Italian investigators due to the “special” relationship between the two countries.

He pointed out that an Egyptian delegation of investigators agreed to demands by Italian counterparts during last week’s meetings in Rome, with the exception of a request for access to logs from phone calls, as it would be a violation of the Egyptian constitution and laws.

Egyptian investigators said that the Italians had demanded the call logs of thousands of phone numbers in the area where Regeni lived and where his body was found.

Shoukry said that a joint effort to identify the culprits might take a long time, citing investigations into the assassination of Egypt’s prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat in June 2015, which took one year.

On Sunday, Shoukry expressed dismay to his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni over what he described as “the politicisation” of Italy’s handling of the Regeni case, following Italy’s decision to recall its envoy to Egypt for consultations.

Regeni vanished from the streets of Cairo on 25 January, and his body was discovered in a ditch on the outskirts of the city nine days later, showing signs of extensive torture.

Last month, Egyptian police said they had found Regeni’s passport and other belongings in the possession of one of the families of a member of an alleged gang of kidnappers who robbed foreigners.

Police killed all four alleged robbers in a shootout in late March, with Italian officials expressing scepticism over the development.

source: Ahram Online