Senior foreign ministry official Luigi Vignali will visit Sudan next week in a bid to prod its authorities to "rapidly" resolve the case of Veneto businessman Marco Zennaro, who was imprisoned there in April on fraud charges.
"The foreign ministry and Italy's embassy in Khartoum will continue to follow extremely closely the case of compatriot Marco Zennaro," said a foreign ministry statement.
"Amid a series of initiatives that are already underway at all levels, the (foreign ministry's) director-general for Italian citizens abroad and migration policies, Luigi Vignali, will travel to Sudan on Monday for a two-visit to Khartoum," the statement went on.
During his stay in Khartoum, Vignali will meet local officials and will pay a visit to Zennaro and meet member of his family and his lawyer, the statement said.
"The goal of the visit is to raise awareness with Sudan's authorities of the need to rapidly define the Italian citizen's position and to seek their cooperation in improving the conditions in which he is being held while waiting for what will hopefully be a rapid conclusion to the case."
Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro this week called on foreign minister Luigi Di Maio and Italy's premier Mario Draghi for action to end 46-year-old Zennaro's "unacceptable" detention in Sudan.
Zennaro has been held in jail in Sudan for over seven weeks on charges of defrauding Sudanese businesses.
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