Egyptian prosecutors' ending of their investigation into the 2016 slaying of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni is "unacceptable", Italy's foreign ministry stated on Wednesday, pledging to solve the case.
"What Egypt's public prosecutor alleges in respect of the tragic murder of Giulio Regeni is unacceptable," the ministry said in a statement.
Egypt's public prosecutor on Wednesday officially closed its probe of 28-year-old Regeni's abduction and killing, claiming in a statement that Italian prosecutors lacked the necessary proof to try four Egyptian security officials they have charged with the crime.
The statement came on the deadline Italian prosecutors gave the Egyptian officials to respond to the indictment issued against them in early December. The indictment prompted Egypt's public prosecutor to suspend its probe of the Regeni case.
Italy's foreign ministry reiterated "its complete faith in the country's magistrates" and vowed to enlist the help of "all institutions" including the European Union "so the truth over Giulio Regeni's barbaric killing can finally emerge."
"It is to be hoped that Egypt's public prosecutor shares this need to obtain the truth and will provide the necessary cooperation with the Rome prosecutor's office," the foreign ministry statement concluded.
The Egyptian public prosecutor's statement claimed "enemy parties" seeking to drive a wedge between Italy and Egypt were responsible for Regeni's slaying. Egyptian officials had previously suggested a criminal gang and enemy political groups were responsible for the killing
Stonewalling by Egyptian authorities over the Regeni case caused a diplomatic rift leading to the months-long recall of Italy's envoy to Egypt and calls for an end to arms deals between the two countries.
At time of his disappearance in Cairo in late January 2016, Regeni, a Cambridge University PhD student, was researching the politically sensitive topic of independent trade unions in Egypt.
