Return of Italian ambassador was anticipated: FM

CAIRO – 15 August 2017: Italian Prime Minister’s decision to return Cairo’s ambassador was a welcomed step by Egypt. The spokesperson of Foreign Affairs Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid told press on Monday that there have been recent indicators of the decision.

Abu Zeid affirmed that talks between Egyptian and Italian sides are still taking place regarding the murder of the researcher Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016.

The spokesperson emphasized that the step of returning the ambassador highlights Italy’s willingness to not make investigations on Regeni’s death an obstacle on the way of recovering strong relations between both countries.

Italy has decided to return Ambassador Giampaolo Cantini to Cairo a year after he had been summoned, Reuters reported on Monday. The Italian ambassador was withdrawn in August 2016 due to the mysterious torture and murder of student Giulio Regeni.

The reason behind that decision is the shocking incident that occurred on Thursday, when an Italian tourist beat an Egyptian engineer to death at a hotel under construction in Marsa Alam town, Red Sea governorate.

The police arrested the Italian tourist on a murder charge. He will be held for four days in prison, pending the outcome of a forensic investigation.