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WORLD NEWS Monday 6 august 2018

Italy's FM visits Egypt, first since killing of researcher

By SAMY MAGDY in April 2016, saying Egypt Egyptian and Italian inves-
CAIRO (AP) — Italy's foreign was not cooperating in tigators have been work-
minister said Sunday he an Italian investigation. An ing together to retrieve
was pleased to hear from ambassador returned last surveillance footage from
Egyptian officials that they September. the Cairo subway system
are committed to complet- Egypt's security services as part of a joint investiga-
ing an investigation into have denied any involve- tion. They said in June that
the 2016 killing of an Ital- ment in Regeni's abduction footage from the system on
ian graduate student in the or death. "We have been the day of Regeni's disap-
capital Cairo with a "con- working hard to overcome pearance does not include
crete result." the challenge that (Egyp- images of him. However,
Enzo Moavero Milanesi ar- tian-Italian) relations have there are gaps in the foot- Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi, meets with his
rived in Egypt on the first faced," Shoukry said. age which need "further so- Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, at Tahrir Palace, in Cairo,
visit by a top Italian diplo- El-Sissi repeated a pledge phisticated examination," Egypt, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018.
mat since the death of Gi- to the Italian minister that they said.q Associated Press
ulio Regeni. His trip comes Egypt would help bring Re-
on the heels of a visit last geni's killers to justice, ac-
month by Italian Interior cording to a statement by
Minister and Deputy Prime his office.
Minister Matteo Salvini. Since Regeni's body was
Milanesi met with Egypt's found, the Egyptian gov-
President Abdel-Fattah el- ernment has suggested
Sissi and Foreign Minister several alternative scenari-
Sameh Shoukry in Cairo. He os for his death.
said at a news conference It initially claimed Regeni
with Shoukry that they dis- was killed by gang mem-
cussed "important" topics bers after security forces
including Libya, illegal mi- killed five members of a kid-
gration and the controver- napping crew in a raid and
sial death of Regeni. circulated photos of Re-
"I was pleased to hear geni's ID cards officials said
from the minister and also were found at the scene.
the Egyptian government That explanation was wide-
strong willingness to bring ly dismissed, including in
judicial inquiry to concrete the Italian media, which
result," he said of the Rege- has closely followed the
ni case. "We are confident case.
that justice will be brought The Egyptian president and
in this really tragic and his government routinely
painful case." blame unnamed parties for
Regeni, 28, was a Cam- the country's woes. Earlier
bridge University doctoral this year, el-Sissi cast aside
student researching labor the gang killing theory and
movements in Egypt when accused unnamed parties
he was abducted on Jan. of killing Regeni in a failed
25, 2016. His body was plot to sabotage Egyptian-
found along a roadside Italian relations.
several days later bearing Regeni's research would
marks of extensive torture, have drawn scrutiny from
of the kind that activists security agencies. He went
and rights groups say is missing in central Cairo
widespread within Egyp- when police were out in
tian detention facilities. force to prevent protests on
The case roiled Cairo's re- the fifth anniversary of the
lations with Rome, with 2011 uprising that toppled
Regeni's family and Italian autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
media accusing Egyptian His main contact in the
security forces of tortur- unofficial street vendors'
ing and killing him. Italy union later said he told po-
withdrew its ambassador lice that Regeni was a spy.