Egypt has "not closed the case" of an Italian doctoral student killed earlier this year in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry said Tuesday.
"Cooperation with Italian investigators will continue," he added, going on to assert that Cairo would provide Rome with all the information it sought in relation to the Giulio Regeni murder case.
Regeni came to Cairo last September to work on his doctoral thesis on the Egyptian economy. In late January, he disappeared in Cairo’s Dokki district before his body was found -- bearing signs of extreme torture -- several days later.
Regeni vanished on Jan. 25 -- the fifth anniversary of a popular uprising that forced autocratic President Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30 years in power.
At the time of the student’s disappearance, Egypt's sprawling security apparatus had been on high alert to prevent the eruption of any demonstrations marking the uprising’s anniversary.
While the Egyptian authorities deny any involvement in the grisly murder, the signs of torture on the young man’s body were remarkably similar to those associated with Egyptian police torture.
The issue has since led to a diplomatic row between Rome and Cairo.
On Sunday, the Italian Foreign Ministry expressed its displeasure with the slow pace of investigations by recalling its ambassador from Egypt.
Shukry, for his part, said Egypt had complied with all requests made by Italian investigators except one, which, he said, was "incompatible with the Egyptian constitution".
He went on to say the investigation would "take a long time," while describing ongoing cooperation with Italy on the case as "exceptional".
Last week, Egyptian Assistant Attorney-General Mustafa Suleiman said that a recent meeting between Egyptian officials and Italian investigators had ended in disagreement over Egypt’s refusal to hand over phone records relevant to the case.
By Mahmoud Gharib
