A petition calling for the UK government to ensure a full investigation in the death of the Italian PhD candidate Giulio Regeni has passed the minimum number of signatures requiring the government to respond to the petition.
The British embassy in Cairo confirmed to Daily News Egypt that Britain has raised the case of Regeni with the Egyptian government. “We have raised the case a number of times even before the petition,” an embassy spokesperson said.
“We have followed the case of Giulio Regeni closely since he disappeared on 25 January. We were saddened to hear about his tragic death and are concerned by reports that he had been subjected to torture,” a statement from the embassy read.
The statement revealed that the UK minister for the Middle East and North Africa Tobias Ellwood, as well as British officials in London and Cairo, had stressed to the Egyptian authorities the need for a extensive and transparent investigation, in full cooperation with the Italian authorities.
“As an Italian national, it’s right that the Italian authorities are taking the lead in Giulio Regeni’s case. The UK government is in close contact with the Italian government in Rome, Cairo, and London, and stands ready to support their efforts in any way we can,” the statement concluded.
The petition, which surpassed 10,000 signatures, read: “the UK government has a duty to ensure that a credible investigation of this extrajudicial killing is carried out.”
Regeni, 28, was a Cambridge university researcher. His body was found in a ditch along the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road on 3 February, nine days after his disappearance.
More than two month 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 considered the level of cooperation from Egypt in solving the case insufficient, prompting it to recall its ambassador from Cairo.
