Italy announces Giampaolo Cantini as new, non-resident ambassador to Egypt

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced Giampaolo Cantini as the new ambassador to Cairo after a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. 

In a press conference on Wednesday, Renzi stated that Cantini would be a non-resident ambassador.

Cantini was previously the head of the Italian Cooperation Agency, one of Italy’s largest national development agencies.

In his statement to the Cabinet on Tuesday Renzi explained that, “While there is symbolically no ambassador in Cairo considering the situation, today we are looking at statements from the Chief Prosecutor Pignatone who is leading the investigation [into Giulio Regeni’s death]. But to avoid even one day without an ambassador we have appointed Giampaolo Cantini, a great expert on Northern Africa, as ambassador to Egypt,” Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy recalled the previous ambassador to Egypt, Maurizio Massari, following the murder of Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni. Renzi announced the news that Massari would be recalled on Twitter, using the hashtag “#Truth for Regeni.” Renzi said Massari has been appointed as Italy’s permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels in Wednesday’s press conference.

Regeni disappeared on the fifth anniversary of the January 25 revolution while on his way to visit a friend in downtown Cairo, an area that was heavily occupied by security forces. His body was found on the side of a road in February showing signs of torture, including cuts, bruises, cigarette burns and multiple stab wounds.

Massari’s recall came after an Egyptian delegation’s visit to Italy to share information relating to Regeni’s death.

Italian officials stated that Egyptian authorities refused to share key materials on the case, including a number of phone records from the day he disappeared. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni stated ahead of Massari’s recall that Italy would take immediate and proportionate measures against Egypt if it didn't change the way it was conducting the investigation.

Egypt recently released the phone records of the street vendors union to Italy. Regeni was conducting research into the union ahead of his death. Italy has also demanded surveillance footage from the day Regeni disappeared.

An Italian investigative team arrived in Egypt on Tuesday and, according to local reports, were satisfied with the progress made in the investigation.

The privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Wednesday that Italy’s public prosecution said Egypt has complied with the majority of their demands in the Regeni case. The public prosecution stated on Italian state TV that their Egyptian counterparts greeted them with new materials, constituting around 30 pages of intelligence.

This included six new phone records, records from local police, and the coroner’s report related to the five people killed by security forces in March, who reportedly had Regeni’s personal materials and passport in their possession.

Security forces killed five people in March that they said were part of a gang that kidnapps foreigners. This was disputed by the families of the deceased.  

Italian authorities previously stated that they didn't accept the allegations that the five people killed by security forces were connected to Regeni’s death.