European parliament condemns killing of Giulio Regeni in Egypt

A European parliament resolution has condemned the suspected torture and murder of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni by Egyptian security forces, saying the killing ought to serve as a “wake-up call” for the EU.

The resolution, which was overwhelmingly passed by a vote of 588-10, with 59 abstentions, on Thursday, called for Egypt’s total cooperation in the investigation into the 28-year-old PhD student’s murder, and also sharply criticised EU members which it claimed had turned a blind eye to reports about Egypt’s systematic human rights abuses. Far from being an “isolated incident”, it painted a picture of a state where disappearances, torture and disregard for civil rightsand press freedom have become the norm.

The resolution called for the suspension of any form of security cooperation with Egyptian authorities and condemned arms deals between Egypt and France, Germany and the UK. It said EU member states needed to cease their “short-sighted and delusive approach to Egypt’s security forces as a guarantor of stability and a partner to fight violent extremism and terrorism in the region”. It is far from clear whether the resolution will have any practical impact on Egypt’s activities or the investigation into Regeni’s murder. But it was a clear sign of growing European pressure on Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. It showed, too, that Regeni’s murder has reverberated far beyond Italy.

A source at the Egyptian foreign ministry said the move had been anticipated and that it could have been more severe. “I can’t say we’re shocked, as we knew it was coming,” the source said.

While the “consistently critical” views of the EU parliament towards Cairo over recent years had not affected policy much so far, HA Hellyer of the Royal United Services Institute in London said it could still make Cairo “angry and frustrated”.

“In the member states it’s likely to make even less difference. However, it certainly creates a certain amount of moral pressure, but nothing that’s going to change the policy in the short term at all,” Hellyer said.

He added, however, that the political pressure that could be created by the motion ought not to be underestimated. “This allows people who are lobbying generally on Egypt to point to this motion.”

Regeni, a Cambridge academic and researcher who was studying Egyptian trade unions, was last seen alive on the night of 25 January. His body, which showed evidence of torture, was found in a ditch along a desert highway more than a week later. Experts have said the case bears all the hallmarks of Egypt’s notorious secret service, and the murder happened amid a broader crackdown on pro-democracy activists before the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, has repeatedly called on Egypt to cooperate with Italian investigators and has said Italy will not accept “easy truths” on the Regeni case.

Tensions between Cairo and Rome appear to be growing as Egyptcontinues to insist that Regeni was not tortured for days – as Italian officials have suggested – and that he was killed after a single violent incident.