Italy to cut military supplies to Egypt after unfruitful investigations into Regeni’s death

Daily News Egypt
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Mourners placed flowers and candles in front of the embassy in memoriam, carrying signs in support of Regeni and his family. Photo by Asmaa Gamal

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry released a statement Wednesday expressing its regret towards the decision of the Italian Parliament to halt the supply of military supplies to Egypt. The statement said that Egypt is considering taking similar measures.

The Italian parliament seconded the Italian senate’s decision that was made last week to halt the supply of spare parts for warplanes to Egypt. The decision was made as an escalation from the Italian side against Egypt for the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni.

Regeni, who was a visiting Cambridge scholar at the American University in Cairo (AUC) was reported missing on the fifth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. His body was found on 3 February showing signs of physical torture.

“The decision doesn’t align with the size and level of cooperation between the two countries. It also contradicts the nations’ common goal of combating terrorism,” the statement read.

It added that the past few months have witnessed several visits between both Italian and Egyptian investigation authorities, during which Egypt has filed hundreds of documents pertaining to investigation results with transparency. Egypt, however, hasn’t received any answers regarding the reasons for the killing of Mohammed Baher and the disappearance of Adel Moawad, both Egyptian citizens in Italy.

The statement continued that it is shocking that the Italian parliament didn’t criticise Cambridge University when it refused to cooperate with the Italian authorities in the investigation, pointing out that this decision will affect the bilateral relations and cooperation between Egypt and Italy.

“Egypt will always be keen on keeping its relations with Italy, and it’s waiting on Italy to show the same eagerness,” the statement concluded.

Egyptian-Italian relations have witnessed severe tension since the death of Regeni as Italy insists that Egypt is failing to provide any substantial findings in the case. Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt in protest of the consultations over the investigations into Regeni’s death.

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