Egypt's president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pledged try and solve the brutal 2016 murder in Egypt of researcher Giulio Regeni, Italy's premier Giuseppe Conte said Monday after meeting Sisi in Sharm El-Sheikh.
"Regeni was the first topic of my discussions with president al-Sisi. I repeated my government's concern and that of the Italian public to see this case solved," Conte told reporters.
"I must say that president al-Sisi swore that the case is receiving his constant attention and renewed efforts," Conte went on.
"He explicitly declared that the case should be solved."
Ongoing dialogue between the two leaders could lead to "a judicial truth," Conte said.
Conte met Sisi during the first summit of European Union and Arab League leaders which opened Sunday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort.
Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge University PhD student researching the sensitive topic of independent trade unions in Egypt was abducted in Cairo and tortured to death three years ago before being dumped by a highway. The case caused a diplomatic rift between Italy and Egypt amid allegations that Egyptian authorities were failing to cooperate fully with Italian investigators.
There is widespread suspicion in western diplomatic circles and the Italian media that Egypt's security forces were behind Regeni's killing. No suspects have been arrested or brought to trial over the case.
