The Italian government informed Egypt today, Thursday, that the waiting time in the case of the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni is over, and that the date for meeting investigators from both countries early next month will be critical, after criticism of Rome for abandoning the case.
Foreign Minister Luigi de Mayo said on communication sites that he had told his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, in a message that the waiting time in the Regeni murder case was over, and that it should be highlighted.
He added that the date of the first of July will be important when Egyptian and Italian investigators meet, because the death of Regeni is an open wound, and that the lack of responses from the Egyptian judicial authorities to the requests of the Italian Prosecutor stand a serious obstacle to reaching the truth.
"For this reason, we need a prompt response regarding (requests), especially with regard to notification of legal residence for the persons under investigation," de Mayo added.
La Stampa and La Republica newspapers today published quotes from the letter sent by the foreign minister to his Egyptian counterpart.
And it was revealed last week that the government was about to sell two military ships to Egypt, despite the latter's lack of cooperation in the Regeni case, where the victim's parents said last Friday that they felt the government was betraying them.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is scheduled to appear this evening before a parliamentary commission of inquiry in the Regeni case.
Relations between Cairo and Rome were strained after the body of Regeni, 26, was found in Egypt in February 2016, with traces of torture, as he was conducting academic research on trade unions.
Two months later, Rome recalled its ambassador to Cairo, and then sent a new ambassador, 17 months after the withdrawal of its former ambassador. Egypt also sent officials to Rome in September 2016 to follow up on the investigations.
Italian media accuse the Egyptian security services of being involved in the torture and killing of Regeni, which the Egyptian authorities deny is true.