Italy officially grants Egyptian Rami Shehata citizenship for heroic act

CAIRO – 27 March 2019: Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini agreed on Tuesday to grant the Italian citizenship to Egyptian young man Rami Shehata for rescuing 51 students kidnapped near Milano, referring to the boy as his “son”.

“Yes to citizenship for Ramy because it’s as if he were my son and he showed he understood the values of this country,” ANSA quoted Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.

Last week, the name of Shehata, 13, made headlines when he succeeded to save the lives of his classmates when their bus driver, originally from Senegal, hijacked the bus, and threatened to shoot them or set the bus on fire.

Shehata was praised by Italian officials for his bravery and fearlessness. Once the driver hijacked the bus he took all the students’ cell phones by force. Ramy denied he had a phone and secretly contacted his father asking him to call the police. The police forces hurried to the scene and arrested the driver at once.

The police statement then reported no causalities among students whose ages range from 11 to 13 years.

Italian police thanked Ramy for his courage and the Italian Minister of Interior decided to grant him the Italian citizenship.