Giulio Regeni was killed because
of his research and the Egyptian secret services had a role in
the case, Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone wrote in a letter
to daily newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica on
Thursday, the second anniversary of his disappearance in Cairo.
The Italian Cambridge PhD researcher's tortured body was
found on the road to Alexandria on February 3, 2016.
The motive for the murder was linked to "the research
activity Giulio conducted in the months of his stay in Cairo",
wrote Pignatone, who is in charge of the Italian probe into the
case.
He said this and "the action of the Egyptian public
apparatus, which had concentrated their attention on Giulio in
the previous months, with more pressing methods, up to January
25" are "firm points".
Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday that Italy will not
stop trying to get to the bottom of the death of Regeni.
"Italy has not forgotten, two years after the horrible murder
of Giulio Regeni," Gentiloni said via Twitter.
"The commitment to seek the truth continues".
. Il movente, "pacificamente da ricondurre alle attività di
ricerca effettuate da Giulio nei mesi di permanenza al Cairo", e
"l'azione degli apparati pubblici egiziani che già nei mesi
precedenti avevano concentrato su Giulio la loro attenzione, con
modalità sempre più stringenti, fino al 25 gennaio", sono "punti
fermi"
he Egyptian Prosecutor General's office said Wednesday a letter
attributed to the Egyptian secret services citing the arrest of
Giulio Regeni was "totally counterfeit". In a statement, it said
"this letter is totally falsified and the Egyptian
Prosecutor-General's office immediately informed its Italian
counterpart" of its falsity "in the framework of the fruitful
cooperation between the two sides". "The Egyptian
prosecutor-general's office on January 22 received from its
Italian counterpart an anonymous letter sent to the Italian
embassy in Swiss capital Bern," the statement said, which said
Regeni had been arrested by the Egyptian secret services. The
letter was dated January 30 2016, or five days after Regeni's
disappearance. Rome prosecutors asked their Egyptian
counterparts to confirm the information in the letter, the
statement said. "This news could hurt cooperation between the
two prosecutor's offices," the statement said. It said the
letter was "categorically" false, including its stamps and
signatures. Thursday January 25 is the second anniversary of the
Italian Cambridge PhD researcher's abduction. His tortured body
was found on the road to Aleaxandria on February 3, 2016.
Egypt's secret services, frequently accused of repressing
dissent, have denied any part in his torture and murder.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently vowed to help
Italy find the culprits. Friuli-born Regeni, 28, was researching
a politically sensitive topic, Egyptian street-seller unions.
His contact, the head of the Cairo street sellers, told police
he was a spy.
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