By: Dr. Ashraf Ramelah | Voice of the Copts

Giulio RegeniGiulio RegeniFor over four months, the Egyptian government has refused to submit the documents requested by the Italian judicial authorities concerning the assassination of Giulio Regeni, an Italian citizen.

Reaction to Regeni’s death was reflected in the Italian Parliament with the approval in the Senate on June 28 of an amendment that blocks the sale of spare parts to Egypt for the F16 fighter jets.

Such a decision may have further negative impact in the cooperation between the two countries in bilateral and international relationships.

The Egyptian authorities conducted an investigation of the mysterious death of the young Italian researcher in the dismissive way that aggression against Coptic Christians is handled with little fact gathering, arrests or convictions.

In the following cases of the last two months alone, few suspects were identified, few arrests were made, and it’s likely that no one will ever face a judge and jury:

      – A Coptic priest was assassinated
      – A Christian nun was murdered with an RPG – a military-grade weapon
      – A home under construction by a Christian owner found his structure demolished on the false pretense that he was converting it to a church
      – A 70 year-old woman was attacked in her home by a mob of three hundred Muslim men, dragged to the             street nude and beaten.
     – Seven Coptic-owned residences were burned and destroyed.

This is in serious contradiction to the words of the Egyptian government claiming to be in favor of democracy and human rights.

The decision taken by the It alian government to block the supply of spare parts for the F16 is legitimate in this case regardless of some opposing voices who consider that such a measure may obstruct Egypt’s fight against terrorism.

Those voices, however, are disregarding the fact that the murder of Regeni is in itself a terrorist act when on Egyptian soil a foreign national student disappears until his body is discovered near a dumpster some distance away, and the state is suppressing evidence (photos, video cameras and phone records).

Voices arise from the Egyptian Parliament in arrogance against the will of the Italians to search for the truth in the case of a murdered son and threaten retaliation against Italy regarding its decisive Parliamentary amendment against Egypt in this matter.

Our organization received information indicating that an Egyptian delegation of Egyptian Parliamentarians seeking to overturn Italy’s decision has arrived in Italy.

They intend to meet with members of the Italian Parliament to persuade them to nullify their recent vote and reverse Italy’s decision to withhold spare F16 parts from Egypt.

This interference in the sovereignty of a democratic country should not be tolerated.

The mystery of the Regeni case in Egypt can only be solved when the truth being obscured by the Egyptian state is revealed. As President Al-Sisi came to power on the concepts of government transparency and respect for law and order, he now needs to step in and demand the release of withheld evidence.

In turn, this will show Egypt and the world who he really is.

Finally, we trust in our MP’s to refrain from any compromise of their resolve and to disregard Egypt’s threats because considerations for the truth in the bloodshed of an Italian citizen are of the highest priority.