Egyptian prosecutors at the
weekend rejected Rome prosecutors' decision to investigate seven
Egyptian spies in the torture and murder of Giulio Regeni.
The Egyptian prosecutors, who have been accused of dragging
their heels in a joint probe, dismissed their Rome colleagues'
move and instead urged them to investigate why Regeni had a
tourist visa instead of a student's one.
Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi on Friday formally
summoned Egyptian Ambassador Hisham Badr to urge the Egyptian
authorities to act rapidly in order to respect the commitment,
assumed at the highest political levels, to achieve full justice
on Regeni's barbaric murder, the foreign ministry said.
Moavero voiced the need on Italy's part to see concrete
investigative results.
He stressed to Ambassador Badr that the results of the recent
meeting in Cairo between Italian and Egyptian investigators of
the Giulio Regeni case have spurred strong disquiet in Italy,
the foreign ministry said.
The ambassador, for his part, manifested Cairo's will to
continue judicial cooperation between the two prosecutor's
offices, said the ministry.
Rome prosecutors are set to investigate seven members of the
Egyptian secret service for the alleged abduction of the Italian
research student, who was tortured and murdered in early 2016.
Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said earlier Friday Italy wanted
answers on Regeni's torture and murder in Cairo or "all" of
Italy's ties with Egypt including the activities of oil and gas
giant ENI would be impacted.
If the Egyptian government does not provide answers on the
Regeni case by the end of the year, he said, "we will draw our
conclusions".
Asked if ENI's activities in major oil and gas projects there
would suffer, he replied "everything will suffer".
Rome prosecutors are set to investigate seven agents of the
Egyptian secret service in a probe into alleged abduction in
connection with the torture and murder in Cairo in early 2016 of
Italian research student Regeni, judicial sources said Thursday.
The formal registration as being under investigation will be
made by prosecutor Sergio Colaiocco early next week, sources
said.
The involvement of the seven is also linked to the analysis
of phone records from which it emerged that Regeni was being
surveilled at least until January 25, 2016, when he disappeared.
The results of the investigations by special police units ROS
and SCO have been known to Egyptian authorities for at least a
year since they were contained in documents made available by
Rome magistrates last December, the sources said.
Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said Thursday that
"the search for the truth on the barbaric killing of Giulio
Regeni remains a priority within the framework of Italy's
relations with Egypt, in the awareness of the strong demand for
justice that is coming from relatives, institutions and
Italians".
The foreign ministry said it would take the necessary steps
to remind Egyptian authorities to renew with determination their
commitment, expressed on several occasions, also at the top
level, to reach concrete and significant results".
Earlier Thursday House Speaker Roberto Fico said the House
would halt all diplomatic relations with the Egyptian parliament
until there is a breakthrough and trial in the Regeni case.
"With great regret I must announce that the Lower House will
suspend all type of diplomatic relations with the Egyptian
Parliament until there is a real breakthrough in investigations
and a trial that resolves the case," he said.
House caucuses later agreed to back Fico's move.
"All the groups have decided to adhere to the Speaker's
initiative," they said in a statement.
On Friday Fico stressed that support for the move had been
"unanimous", from the rightwing populist League to the
centre-right Forza Italia through the anti-establishment 5-Star
Movement (M5S) an onto the centre-left opposition Democratic
Party (PD).
The Egyptian parliament on Friday "expressed its regret for
the statements and unjustifiable stance on the part of (Lower
House) Speaker" Roberto Fico on the Regeni case.
It warned not to "politicise judicial matters" and said "you
cannot influence investigations or interfere in the work of the
authorities".
Rome prosecutors said Wednesday they would be probing several
Egyptian police and spies in the case, but did not specify the
number.
The Rome probe into Regeni has accelerated and the first
suspects will be probed soon, sources said.
Regeni, 28, disappeared in Cairo on January 25, 2016, the
heavily policed fifth anniversary of the uprising that felled
former strongman Hosni Mubarak, and his mutilated body was found
in a ditch on the road to Alexandria on February 3.
His parents said they could only recognise him "from the tip
of his nose".
Egypt has put out several explanations for his death
including a car accident, a gay lovers' tiff turned ugly and a
kidnapping for ransom in which the alleged gang, criminals but
presumably innocent of the Regeni murder, were wiped out.
Speaking after the latest and 10th meeting between Egyptian
and Roman investigators earlier this week, the sources said
Italian prosecutors plan on citing an unspecified number of
Egyptian police and secret service agents who were recently
identified by Italian special police units ROS and SCO.
According to the Italian media, however, there will not be
progress in the case unless Egypt cooperates at a diplomatic
level.
Among other things, the security personnel are accused of the
various attempted cover-ups of the murder.
Regeni, from the northern Friuli region, was researching
Egyptian street sellers' unions for Cambridge University, a
politically sensitive issue.
The head of the Cairo street sellers' union said he fingered
Regeni to scurity services as a spy.
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