CAIRO // Italy’s ambassador to Egypt left Cairo on Sunday after Rome recalled him over a lack of progress in the probe into the murder of an Italian student, an airport official and a diplomatic source said.
Italy, a key ally of Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s regime, recalled Maurizio Massari after last week’s inconclusive meetings between Italian investigators and an Egyptian team that visited Rome to present their findings into Giulio Regeni’s murder.
Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University PhD student, had been researching labour unions when he disappeared on January 25 from central Cairo.
His badly mutilated body was found more than a week later by the side of a road on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital.
During the meetings in Rome, Italy had demanded thousands of phone records to investigate the murder, which Egypt’s assistant state prosecutor Mostafa Suleiman said was a demand that “violates the Egyptian constitution”.
Mr Suleiman, who headed the Egyptian team that visited Rome, said the Italian investigators “conditioned further judicial cooperation on this demand” which his team flatly refused.
Mr Suleiman said the Italian investigators also demanded CCTV footage of the area from where Regeni had disappeared. He said the footage had been automatically deleted by then.
On Sunday, Mr Massari left for Rome after Italy recalled him for consultations, an Italian diplomatic source said. An airport official also confirmed he had departed Cairo.
Italian officials have greeted Egypt’s explanations concerning Regeni’s murder with outright scepticism.
They suspect he was killed by elements in the Egyptian security services, an accusation which Cairo has steadfastly denied.
Regeni’s murder has troubled Cairo-Rome diplomatic ties given that prime minister Matteo Renzi shares a close relationship with Mr El Sisi, helping in turn to generate hugely valuable business contracts for Italian companies in Egypt.
* Agence France-Presse
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
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British & Irish Lions
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
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Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work