Italian senator Lucio Barani said that the Egyptian government was not involved in the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni, during a press conference Barani held with the honorary president of the Euro-Mediterranean parliament, Mohamed Aboul Enein, in Cairo on Sunday.
Barani, leader of the Liberal Popular Alliance Bloc, added that Italy should stop warning against travel to Egypt and labelling the country as “unsafe”. The meeting’s purpose was to restore bilateral relations between Egypt and Italy following the increased tension between the two countries over the death of Regeni.
According to Barani, the Egyptian government is “far from being involved” in the death of Regeni. He added that Egypt is exerting its best efforts towards investigating the incident to promptly reach findings, criticising the “baseless” Italian behaviour towards Egypt.
The member of parliament further said that an international press conference will be held in Rome on Wednesday, in which he will disclose the results of his visit. He will also call on the Italian authorities to stop their warning against travelling to Egypt.
Barani praised President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s initiative to combat terrorism, and also stressed that Italian investors are ready to pursue major projects in Egypt. Furthermore, he added that the two countries should work together to combat illegal immigration.
Similarly, Aboul Enein said during the conference that the reason for Barani’s visit was to disclose the facts in Regeni’s death to the public. This is an attempt to stop any party from using this incident for political manipulation.
This was not the first time Barani ruled out the possibility of the Egyptian government’s involvement in Regeni’s death. Earlier in April, he said that some parties were using this incident to “spoil” the relations between the two countries, adding that the killers are both Egypt and Italy’s enemies.
Regeni was a Cambridge scholar conducting PhD research in Egypt about the political situation. Regeni’s work was not viewed favourably by Egypt’s security services. He went missing on the fifth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution, according to his friends. His body was found on 3 February dumped on the side of a road outside of Cairo, showing signs of torture.
Several rights organisations accused the National Security apparatus of torturing and killing Regeni—an accusation that Egypt has continued to deny. Tension erupted between Egypt and Italy following the death of Regeni. Italy decided in June to cut military aid to Egypt for failing to provide fruitful findings. The country also recalled its ambassador in Egypt.
Source: Daily News Egypt
