The parents of Giulio Regeni, an
Italian student kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Cairo in
2016, expressed satisfaction on Tuesday after the trial of four
Egyptian intelligence officers accused of the homicide started
in Rome.
The four Egyptian security officials, National Security General
Tariq Sabir and his subordinates, Colonels Athar Kamel Mohamed
Ibrahim and Uhsam Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif,
have been put on trial in absentia after Cairo long stonewalled
the case and refused to give their addresses or contact numbers.
This caused a long delay, when ended in September when the
Constitutional Court ruled that the trial could proceed even
though the officers have not been formally notified of the
proceedings against them.
During Tuesday's hearing, the defence lawyers presented
petitions for the decree ordering the trial to be annulled.
Proceedings were adjourned until March 18.
"We have been waiting eight years for this moment," said lawyer
Alessandra Ballerini on behalf of the researcher's parents,
Claudio and Paola.
"We finally hope that the trial can start (in earnest).
"Preliminary questions that had already been rejected in all the
other courtrooms were raised (in Tuesday's hearing).
"After the Constitutional Court's decision, which greatly
strengthens our position, we hope to have a trial against those
who did all the evil in the world to Giulio".
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