Italy dissatisfied with Regeni investigation, pushes Cairo to keep case open

Two days after Egyptian authorities claimed they had identified a criminal gang responsible for the torture and death of Italian research student Guilio Regeni, Italy’s interior minister says the case is ongoing due to pressure from Rome. 

“Faced with our steadfast pursuit of the truth, Egyptian authorities eventually changed course and informed us their investigations are ongoing,” Italy’s Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said in a Sunday interview with Corriere Della Serra newspaper.

But this assurance was not enough to satisfy Italian authorities, Alfano explained. “Our investigators must be directly involved,” he asserted, adding that Italian investigators should be able to participate in interrogations and inspections carried out by their Egyptian counterparts.

Despite the strong tone of the interview, Alfano said he does not favor recalling Italy’s ambassador to Egypt or expelling Cairo’s ambassador to Rome. “It would be a symbolic gesture, and to be honest I prefer to go down the road most likely to lead to us to the truth of the matter,” he said.

This does not mean that Italy intends to stand by passively, he stressed, adding, “I want to reiterate to Giulio’s parents and to the public that the Italian government will have the names of the killers.” 

In a separate statement, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Italy would not accept “convenient truths” or stop short of finding out the truth about Regeni’s death. “It will not bring Giulio back to life, but I owe it to the family,” he said. “I owe it to all of us, and to our dignity.”

Alfano and Renzi are just the latest in a string of Italian officials to express dissatisfaction with Cairo’s handling of the Regeni case and call for further investigations.

Early Friday morning, Egypt’s Interior Ministry posted a statement on Facebook claiming police had found Regeni’s identification documents and personal effects in an apartment linked to a group of men suspected of robbing foreigners. The statement came hours after police shot several of the alleged gang members in a microbus in New Cairo on Thursday.

The Facebook post included a photograph of a passport and student ID cards in Giulio’s name, as well as what appeared to be a block of hashish, presented on a silver-colored platter.

The ministry said it had largely succeeded in solving the case of Regeni’s death. “The Egyptian Interior Ministry offers all its gratitude and appreciation to the Italian security team for its close cooperation, and for the positive role and constant communication with the Egyptian security team throughout the investigation and information gathering."

Italian investigators were skeptical, highlighting a number of inconsistencies in Egypt's latest explanation of what happened to Regeni, querying how likely it is that kidnappers would torture a victim and then hold onto his ID documents for months after his death. They also lamented the deaths of the suspects, who now cannot be questioned in relation to Regeni's murder.

Italy's former Prime Minister Enrico Letta tweeted, "I'm sorry, #I_don't_believe_it. Don't stopping asking for the #Truth_for_GiulioRegeni," in response on Friday, and Regeni's parents posted a picture on Facebook featuring them holding a sign saying, "Verita per Giulio Regeni" (Truth for Giulio Regeni). Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Paolo Gentiloni joined the chorus on Friday, tweeting “Italy insists: we want the truth.”