The parliamentary committees of foreign relations, defence and national security, and human rights were assigned to follow up on the case of murdered Italian researcher Giulio Regeni as a joint, tripartite entity and form a crisis management group of all concerned ministries.
In a Monday meeting, members of parliament discussed several recommendations with officials from the Ministry of Interior, representatives from the National Security Agency, and the deputy minister of justice to find solutions to the crisis.
Over the past five months, investigations into Regeni’s death have been ongoing by the Italian and Egyptian sides. Several meetings between Egyptian and Italian prosecutors reportedly took place, but no significant outcomes were reached regarding Regeni’s murder and the perpetrators.
Last month, the Italian parliament and senate decided to halt military aid to Egypt, which came as part of the repercussions following the still unsolved case.
MP and head of the joint parliamentary entity Kamal Amer said that the three committees will act as a fact-finding committee to follow up on the case with the concerned bodies, and are assigned to take the required decisions throughout the process.
Moreover, members of the committees agreed on a plan to exchange visits and delegations between the Egyptian and European parliaments to activate the parliament’s diplomatic role.
MP Tarek Al-Khouly, who is member in the Foreign Affairs Committee, contended that Regeni’s case has turned from an accident into a political issue, due to the measures taken by the Italian side and the position of Regeni’s mother.
Al-Khouly praised the parliamentary efforts to deal with the case, and depicted them as being ”neutral”. Egyptian-Italian relations have witnessed severe tension over the past few months since Regeni’s death. The Egyptian side is failing to provide substantial findings in the case. Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt in protest of the consultations into the investigations of Regeni’s death.
The death of the Italian researcher and PhD candidate in early February remains a mystery. His body was found in a ditch along the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road several days after he disappeared on the fifth anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.
