Zaki released from prison, but no progress on the Regeni affair
A success. After so much suffering and fear. There is no other way to describe the release of Patrick Zaki, which came after a year and ten months of fear. But there is also another part of the story. Meanwhile, Zaki is still accused and cannot currently return to Italy. Getting out of prison is a first step, but there is still a lot to do. The Italian government, starting from Farnesina, promises to continue to “work silently, with constancy and commitment”. But there is still a long way to go. And then there is a whole other story, which may seem distant but perhaps not entirely. This is the story of Giulio Regeni, on which, despite the responsibilities of Egypt appear increasingly clear, no official steps have been taken.
On the contrary. The trial of four members of the Egyptian security forces, accused for the murder of the young researcher, cannot be carried out in the absence of information on the domicile of the accused. The Cairo he is not cooperating with Italy on this point and Italy is not managing to change his attitude, despite the report of the parliamentary commission of inquiry on the case Regeni identified the Egyptian government security apparatuses as responsible for the murder. The various Italian governments that have succeeded each other have not managed to scratch the impermeability of the Egyptian government, which does not seem to intend on the matter any of what it considers as “concessions” but which would actually be steps towards effective cooperation for the solution of a case that continues to hurt.
After Zaki’s release, pressure is needed on Regeni’s murder
The problem is that it continues to hurt especially those who would like the truth about the end of to emerge Giulio Regeni, not so much to other actors. While civil society continues to ask for concrete moves towards the truth, Italy seems to have the blunt weapons to make them happen. Of course, symbolically, the constitution as a civil party to the trial has given a message. But it all stopped there. Also because in the meantime diplomatic relations have continued, albeit with some greater “precautions” than in the past.
The reality, however, is that Italy in Egypt has multiple interests and it is not easy to cancel everything as if nothing had happened. And despite the release of Zaki these contradictions still emerge, indeed they do so perhaps even more than before, since there are those who fear that with the release of Zaki the story of Giulio Regeni may end up in the background or be forgotten, overshadowing the critical issues on human rights in Egypt. This is underlined, for example, by the Minister of Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani. Answering a question from Rossella Muroni in the course of the hearing with the combined environment committees of the Chamber and Senate, he stated that on the next COP27 to be held in November 2022 in Egypt, in Sharm el Sheikh, in the light of the Regeni and Zaki cases, “some questions” would be asked, because ” going there pretending nothing weighs a lot “and” if I were still a minister it would be a problem for me “.
Relations between Italy and Egypt between gas, weapons and geopolitics
But bilateral relations are traditionally close and often flourishing. At a commercial level, the fundamental guidelines are essentially two: energy and defense. Egypt is the second largest producer of gas in Africa and Italian companies have been active in the country for some time and in a significant way. For several decades, well before the case Regeni but also well before the advent of Al Sisi or the end of Mubarak after the Arab springs of 2011. A relationship that has continued, however, also in recent years and which has indeed deepened with new bilateral projects and new investments after the discovery of new fields that certainly make the prospect of abandoning a country less attractive. offers excellent ideas and excellent prospects for cooperation in terms of energy. There is talk of billionaire investments.
Regarding the defense, the Regeni murder did not block bilateral ties. Indeed, as written byHuffPost, in 2020 exports increased from € 900 million to € 1.2 billion. And we are proceeding along this path, given that according to agreements signed exactly one year ago, new military vehicles, both air, naval and satellite, will be delivered. Despite the apparent paradox that Egypt supported the claims of General Haftar on Libya, theoretically an opponent of the Tripoli government supported by Italy. Indeed, it is said that Rome used the side of Cairo to initiate the dialogue that still existed with the general Haftar.
The links also have a political aspect. With Libya in flames and the Sahel under constant terrorist threat, it is clear that no one agrees with an unstable Egypt. Also for this reason, despite the Regeni case and the many shadows on human rights under the regime of Al Sisi, no one (not just Italy) takes the trouble to target Cairo, which is actually gaining space in international arenas due to its strategic position. Emmanuel Macron’s France has just concluded the sale of other weapons, while the United States is giving significant funding to a country that also has other friends to the east.
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