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Italy Urges Egypt To Find Student Who Disappeared On Jan 25 Anniversary

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called upon the Egyptian government to solve the "mysterious disappearance" of an Italian student.

Staff Writer

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Egypt to track down an Italian student who "mysteriously disappeared" in Cairo on January 25th 2016, during the anniversary of the 2011 uprising. In a statement released on Sunday, the Ministry said that it is "following with the utmost attention and concern the affair of Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian student who mysteriously disappeared on the evening of January 25 in the centre of the capital."

According to Italian media reports, Regeni, born in Italy's North-Eastern province of Udine, was in Egypt to study. Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni called his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry on Sunday to “determinedly ask for the greatest commitment to tracing the compatriot and providing every possibly information about his circumstance.” His family flew to Cairo last Wednesday.

The ministry said it was in close contact with both Egyptian authorities as well as Regeni's family, but no further details were provided in regards to what might have happened to the Italian student. The statement arrives as non-governmental organisations continue to report on hundreds of cases of disappearances. In its annual World Report 2016 released recently, international watchdog Human Rights Watch indicates that National Security officers were responsible for dozens of them, often targeting political activists.

“Human Rights Watch documented the cases of five forced disappearances and two likely forced disappearances between April 2014 and June 2015. Three of these cases resulted in death,” the document says. Egyptian organisation Freedom for the Brave documented 164 forced disappearances between April and June, the report adds.

*Main Photo courtesy of Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.