Italy said on Tuesday that “immediate and proportionate” measures would be taken if the Egyptian government fails to cooperate in revealing the truth about the murder of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni, according to Reuters. “If there is not a change in tack [on the part of Egypt], the government is ready to react, adopting measures that are both immediate and proportionate,” Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the Italian parliament. Although the minister did not provide any further details as to the specific measures that would be taken, last month the head of the Italian Senate’s human rights commission, Luigi Manconi, called on the Italian government to return Italy’s ambassador to Cairo for “consultations” in order to put further pressure on the Egyptian government. Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid responded to Gentiloni’s comments by saying that Egypt has refrained from responding to the Italian minister’s comments “in light of the strong and diverse historic relations between Egypt and Italy on the official and popular levels.” Abu Zeid added that Gentiloni’s speech comes one day prior to the scheduled arrival of the Egyptian investigative team in Italy to present…
Italy to Take “Immediate” Measures if Giulio Regeni Case Remains Unsolved
April 5, 2016
