Italian author and journalist Corrado Augias awarded the Legion of Honor to the French Embassy in Rome;

A few days ago, in protest against the awarding of a similar medal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Ogias - who received the medal in 2007 - said that the murder of the Italian researcher Giulio Regeni in Egypt in 2016 represents a deep wound for Italians, stressing that he was expecting from French President Emmanuel Macron a fraternal movement and understanding towards the Italians.

Ogias added that Sisi is an objective partner in the crimes committed by his regime's employees in all the torture and killing that occurred to Regeni, as he put it.

Ogias explained to Al-Jazeera that he was disappointed by the French President's decision to award Sisi a copy of the medal himself.

He said, "Of course (Macron) has the right to receive President Sisi with all the honors that a head of state deserves, but granting him the Legion of Honor was an exaggeration. I said that President Sisi, and here I must be precise, is an objective participant with a gang of criminals and agents who They acted in a criminal way, so he is participating in the crime as a head of state. "

Julio Regeni is a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, and he was conducting research in Cairo to obtain a doctorate, and on the anniversary of the January 25 revolution in 2016 he disappeared for 9 days, and then his body was found in February 2016 in the suburbs of Cairo with signs of torture.

Other personalities

The decision taken by the journalist, Corrado Augias, had reactions from other Italian personalities who had previously received the French medal.

Former Italian Parliament member and former Secretary General of Italian Trade Unions, Sergio Coverati, announced his desire to restore the medal awarded to him by France, for his tireless work in defense of children's rights and against the exploitation of minors.

The former Minister of Culture and Italian Member of Parliament, Giovanna Melandri, also expressed her desire to restore the "Legion of Honor", which was awarded to her in 2003.

It is expected that other Italian personalities will announce their desire to abandon the French Legion of Honor.

French media criticized what they considered to be a blackout from the Elysee Palace (the French presidency) of the ceremonies imitating Sisi, the highest degree in the Order of the French Republic, during his visit to Paris, which sparked criticism inside France because of Egypt's record in the field of human rights.

And the media - in the forefront of the television program "Le Quotidien" - said that they had to obtain some pictures from the Egyptian presidency website, in light of the fact that no French journalist was invited to the Elysee, and no camera was allowed for a French media outlet. The media considered that the Elysee He sought to conceal the honor from the eyes of the French.

Regeni's family’s lawyer accused the Egyptian regime of involvement in the killing of her client some 5 years ago, days after accusations were brought against 4 Egyptian officers in preparation for the start of their trial.

The Italian Public Prosecutor, Michael Prettipino, announced the end of the investigations into the case of Regeni's murder, with charges of premeditated murder, torture and kidnapping against 4 Egyptian officers, while the case against the fifth accused was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that what was issued by the Attorney General in Rome regarding the results of the investigations is very important, "with strong evidence that leaves no room for doubt."

Conte added that the trial will be of international importance, and that there is a possibility of the participation of international observers, despite numerous attempts by unnamed parties to prevent this from happening.