World

Italy's Lower Chamber Suspends Diplomatic Ties With Egyptian Parl't - Speaker

ROME (Sputnik) - Italy's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, decided to suspend its relations with the Egyptian parliament due to the lack of progress in the probe into the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni in the Arab Republic, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Roberto Fico said on Thursday.
Sputnik

Regeni, a Cambridge University graduate, who was engaged in research work in Cairo, vanished in the Egyptian capital in late January 2016. On February 3, his body with signs of torture was found in Cairo's suburbs. Earlier in the week, the Italian prosecutor's office said that the names of the first suspects in the student's killing would be announced soon.

'I regret to inform that the Chamber of Deputies suspends any diplomatic relations with the Egyptian parliament until there is a breakthrough in the investigation and it is concluded', Fico said.

Regeni is claimed to have been abducted and tortured by the Egyptian security services, who might have suspected the student of espionage. The espionage claims might have originated from one of the police's whistleblowers.

​According to media reports, the Italian Prosecutor's office might include Egyptian policemen and intelligence officers in the list of suspects.

Discuss