The parents of Giulio Regeni have
called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to testify at a
Rome trial in absentia of four Egyptian security officials
accused of torturing their son to death in January-February
2016.
Interviewed by TV talk-show host Fabio Fazio on his program Che
tempo che fa on the Nove channel, Claudio Regeni and Claudia
Deffendi said "we have called el-Sisi as a witness", speaking
Sunday night on the eve of the anniversary of day the student's
half-naked body was found in a ditch on the Cairo-Alexandria
highway on February 3, 2016, a week after he disappeared on the
Cairo metro on January 25.
"That day, February 3, was tragic", the father said during the
interview.
"Now, we are waging this battle", he said of the trial.
Giulio Regeni's mother said the legal battle involved "necessary
pain" because "being part of the trial is a way to be with
Giulio, of staying close to him".
"The most painful thing is knowing that, if something had been
done on time, for example a phone call by President el-Sisi,
Giulio could have been saved".
During the interview, the parents also said they hope el-Sisi
will help them get back their son's clothes and personal
effects.
Regeni, 28, a Friuli-born Cambridge University doctoral
researcher into Caito street unions, was allegedly abducted and
tortured to death by National Security General Tariq Sabir and
his subordinates, Colonels Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim and
Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif, who are not
attending the trial after Egypt refused to notify them of the
proceedings.
He was allegedly targeted because of the politically sensitive
nature of his research, after a street seller union chief
fingered him as an alleged spy.
After recalling that "many people have been arrested and
targeted" in Egypt for cooperating with the investigation into
the student's death, Claudio Regeni and Claudia Deffendi said
el-Sisi and his son Mahmoud have been called to testify at the
next hearing with a notification "delivered though the embassy
and the Facebook page of the Egyptian presidency", adding that
el-Sisi's presence at the trial could represent an opportunity
for them to be given back their son's personal effects, as
promised.
Meanwhile on Monday Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio
Tajani said he was expecting for "light to be shed" on Regeni's
case.
"If President el-Sisi will decide to come" to testify it will be
"his choice", noted the leader of Forza Italia (FI).
Egypt has in the past advanced differing explanations for Giulio
Regeni's death including a car accident, a gay lovers' tiff, and
abduction and murder by an alleged kidnapping gang that was
wiped out after Regeni's documents were allegedly planted in
their lair.
Lack of cooperation on the case by Egypt led to Rome's
temporarily withdrawing its ambassador from Cairo.
Successive Italian governments have been criticized by Regeni's
parents for continuing to cooperate with Cairo on deals ranging
from migration to oil finds and arms sales including two
Italian-made frigates.
El-Sisi has repeatedly promised to help Italy get to the truth
about the murder.
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