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CRIME

Italy ups pressure on Egypt over student’s murder

Italy has upped its pressure on Egypt over slain student Giulio Regeni, warning it would not accept a "fabricated" account of the Italian's torture and murder from Egyptian prosecutors and police due in Rome on Wednesday.

Italy ups pressure on Egypt over student's murder
Paolo Gentiloni has warned that Italy will not accept a 'fabricated' account of Giulio Regeni's torture. Photo: John Thys/AFP

As Cairo confirmed the investigative team would fly to the Italian capital, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni warned of unspecified “proportionate” consequences if Rome's demands for greater transparency on Regeni's fate were not met.

Regeni, 28, and a PhD candidate at Cambridge University, was found dead outside Cairo on February 3rd, his body bearing the signs of torture which an autopsy concluded had been inflicted over several days.

On March 25, Cairo announced police had killed four members of a criminal gang specializing in abducting foreigners, and that they had found Regeni's passport in the apartment of a sister of one of the slain suspects.

That version of what happened to Regeni has been greeted with outraged scepticism in Italy, where there is a widespread suspicion that the murder was the work of elements in the security services. Cairo has rejected that theory as baseless.

Gentiloni reiterated that Italy regarded the kidnapping gang story as a “new attempt to give credence to a convenient truth” and said he would reject any attempt to have it accepted as “a conclusion to the investigation”.

Egypt responded tersely to those remarks. “We refrain from commenting on these statements which complicate the situation, particularly as they come one day prior to the arrival of the Egyptian investigators' team,” the foreign ministry in Cairo said in a statement.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Italy would not stop until it got “the truth, full stop. The real truth.

“We owe that to Giulio, his friends, his mother, father, his little sister and we owe it to all of us. We hope and we think Egypt can cooperate with our magistrates … we want, we want, we want the truth to the see the light of day.”

Close ties at risk

Gentiloni told Italian lawmakers that Rome was still waiting to receive Regeni's mobile phone records and CCTV images from the neighbourhood in which he was abducted. The minister also said Italy was seeking information on Regeni having “probably been placed under surveillance prior to his abduction.”

If these elements are not forthcoming, Gentiloni warned of damage to the usually close relations between the two countries.

“The government is ready to react by adopting immediate and proportionate measures,” he said, rejecting suggestions Italy could not afford a bust-up with a major trade and security partner.

“In the name of reasons of state, we will not accept a fabricated truth… and we will not allow the dignity of our country to be walked all over.”

Egypt's public prosecutor's office said the team headed for Rome would be led by deputy general prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman and would “present the results of the investigation conducted by the Egyptian general prosecution in the case so far”.

The delegation was initially due in Rome on Tuesday, but the trip was delayed for undisclosed reasons.

Barely recognizable

Regeni disappeared in central Cairo on January 25th, and his body was found nine days later on the side of a motorway. His mother later said his body had been so badly mutilated she could only recognize him by the tip of his nose.

Regeni had been researching labour movements in Egypt, a sensitive topic, and had written articles critical of the government under a pen name.

He disappeared on a day when Cairo was almost deserted and security tight as the country marked the fifth anniversary of the uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.

Since the 2013 ouster of Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi, rights groups have accused Egypt's security services of carrying out illegal detentions, forced disappearances of activists and the torture of detainees.

Since Morsi's removal by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a police crackdown targeting Morsi's supporters has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands jailed.

Hundreds more have been sentenced to death, including Morsi himself.

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TERRORISM

Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

Italy is on its highest-level terror alert and ministers have warned the public to be vigilant over the Easter holidays - so is there cause for concern if you're planning to travel in the country?

Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

Italian authorities agreed on Monday to increase anti-terrorism monitoring ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” at the moment, and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

READ ALSO: Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Nevertheless, he warned that “during the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful.”

Italy has been on its highest-level terror alert since October 2023 following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, meaning the official alert level could not be raised any further on Monday.

The plan for increased surveillance and the warnings to the public in Italy came following the terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Ministers said that terror plots on this scale, organised by groups, “would be intercepted sooner in Italy” and said the main terror threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves”.

He was referring to the fact that recent deadly attacks in Europe have often been carried out by a single perpetrator, not affiliated to a terrorist organisation. The profile of attackers is often isolated young men who have become radicalised.

Unlike most other major European countries, Italy has not so far suffered any deadly attacks at the hands of jihadist militants.

Experts have suggested that Italy has been able to prevent attacks partly due to lessons learned from anti-mafia policing, and that it also has a lower number of citizens at risk of radicalisation than countries like the UK or France – and therefore fewer suspects to watch.

The country arrests dozens of suspects every year on terrorism charges following surveillance operations. Earlier in March, three men of Palestinian origin were arrested in the Abruzzo town of l’Aquila, alleged to be involved in an organised terror plot.

In 2023, at least 56 foreign nationals were deported from Italy after facing terror-related charges.

Italy is generally seen as being at a lower risk of being hit by a major terror attack than some neighbouring countries. So what exactly does the raised alert level mean for people in the country?

Heightened security

While much of Italy’s counter-terrorism work goes on behind the scenes, there will be increased police and military patrols over Easter in busy public places deemed “sensitive”, including shopping centres and places of worship.

The most visible manifestation of the heightened security alert in Italy is the armed soldiers on patrol outside government buildings, tourist attractions, airports, train stations, central squares and in other busy public areas.

Unlike in some other European countries, Italy’s airports do not regularly experience bomb hoaxes and other threats. While no additional security checks for passengers are being introduced, security is likely to remain tight at Italian airports this Easter, as at all European transport hubs.

If you’re visiting a major tourist attraction over Easter or attending any type of large public event, expect a high level of security at the door.

Travel advice

So far, no country has warned its nationals against visiting Italy – the US State Department still lists the alert level for Italy as Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, which has seen no change since July 2023. 

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