Keeping up its press for the “truth” in the torture and slaying of an Italian graduate student in Cairo, Italy on Friday announced it was recalling its ambassador from the Egyptian capital for urgent consultations.
Italian Minister of Foreign affairs Paolo Gentiloni was recalling Maurizio Massari for “an urgent evaluation of more opportune initiatives to relaunch the commitment aimed at determining the truth about the barbarous murder of Giulio Regeni,” a ministry statement said.
The 28-year-old student, who was researching Egyptian labor movements, disappeared on Jan. 25, the fifth anniversary on the Egyptian uprising, when police and other Egyptian security personnel were out in force in Cairo to discourage protests. His body was found near a Cairo highway on Feb. 3. Italian officials said an Italian autopsy found signs of “protracted” torture over several days, and that Regeni appears to have died on Feb. 1 or 2.
Italy’s foreign ministry said the decision to step up diplomatic pressure by recalling the ambassador was taken after meetings in Rome between visiting Egyptian investigators and Italian prosecutors and police.
Although the ministry statement was not more specific, the recall was widely seen in Italy as a sign that the meetings failed to satisfy Italian authorities.
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