Egyptian security services are responsible for the torture and death of Italian student Giulio Regeni, according to a parliamentary commission.
The report — published after two years of investigations — blamed the killing on members of Egypt’s National Security.
Regeni was abducted by unknown assailants in the suburbs of Cairo in January 2016 while conducting research abroad on trade unions. The mutilated body of the 28-year-old student was found a few days later.
Four Egyptian police officers were being tried in absentia for his murder, but proceedings were suspended in October.
Weeks later, an Italian parliamentary commission said officials had “meticulously reconstructed” Regeni’s killing.
“Responsibility for the abduction, torture, and murder of Giulio Regeni rests directly with the security apparatus of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and in particular with members of the National Security,” the commission said in its final report.
Italian investigators have stated that Egyptian secret service agents tortured Regeni for days by “burning him, kicking him, hitting him with their fists, and using knives and sticks”.
Under the law, the four suspects cannot be tried because they have not been officials informed of the proceedings against them. Egypt has always refused to provide the Italian justice system with their details and denies Italy’s allegations.
The case has long poisoned relations between Cairo and Rome, with Italy regularly accusing the Egyptian authorities of not cooperating.
“It is time to remind Egypt of its responsibilities as a state, which are very clear and significant regarding the fate of Giulio Regeni and go beyond the penally significant responsibilities of its agents,” the cross-party Italian Commission said.
