The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said on Tuesday that the UK government has urged Egypt to consider “every possible scenario” regarding the case of murdered PhD candidate Giulio Regeni, including the possible scenario that Egyptian security agencies are behind his murder.
The FCO responded to a petition calling for the UK government to ensure that a full investigation into the death of Regeni is carried out. The petition passed the minimum number of signatures required for the government to respond.
Daily News Egypt obtained a copy of the government’s response to the petitioners in which the FCO reiterated that the UK government has raised the issue of Regeni’s murder on a number of occasions.
“Following consultation with the Italian government, we raised the investigation into Regeni’s murder with the Egyptian authorities on a number of occasions. In these conversations, we called for a full and transparent investigation and full cooperation with the Italian investigators,” the statement read.
The aforementioned conversations were conducted between the UK and the Egyptian ambassador in London as well as senior officials in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
“We are aware of allegations that the Egyptian security forces were responsible for the murder of Regeni. These are unproven, but we urge the Egyptian authorities to consider every possible scenario as they investigate,” the statement added.
The FCO also said it will continue urging the Egyptian government to fully cooperate with its Italian counterpart to bring the “killers to justice as soon as possible”.
Regeni, 28, was a doctoral student at Cambridge University. His body was found in a ditch along the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road on 3 February, nine days after his disappearance.
Almost three months after his body was found, the case of Regeni’s death is far from resolved, despite investigations carried out by both Egypt and Italy. The latter has previously stated that they consider the level of cooperation from Egypt in solving the case insufficient, prompting it to recall its ambassador from Cairo.
Additional reporting by Susan Essex
