The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has expressed disappointment over the recent European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in Egypt, which placed the mysterious death of Italian student Giulio Regeni within the context of alleged abuses by Egyptian security services.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid described the resolution as "unfair" and added that it does not reflect the true situation in Egypt, but rather relied on baseless allegations.
On Thursday, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Egypt to provide Italy with all the information necessary to properly investigate the death of Regeni, an Italian PhD candidate whose body was found on the outskirts of Cairo in early February.
The European Parliament strongly condemned torture and assassination of Regeni under suspicious circumstances, framing the incident in the context of continuing allegations over human rights abuses in Egypt. It also expressed concern over the recent closure of the El Nadeem Center for the Management and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture.
Abu Zeid said it was unacceptable for the resolution to insinuate that teh death of Regeni was linked to the human rights situation in Egypt. He said that Egypt was conducting investigations in close cooperation with Italian investigators, and that the European Parliament should not anticipate the outcome of those investigations as if the conclusions were already clear.
Abu Zeid said it is disappointing that a prestigious legislative institution like the European Parliament would treat unconfirmed accusations and media reports as if they were facts and evidence, issuing decisions on that basis.
Responding to ongoing allegations of forced disappearance, he said that the vast majority of cases involved suspects arrested for criminal activities, and were not genuine cases of forced disappearance at all.
The spokesperson stressed that Egypt is committed to respecting human rights and freedoms, adding that torture is a crime, as stated in the Egyptian Constitution.
He highlighted the strategic ties between Egypt and Europe and expressed hopes that the two would continue to cooperate economic matters and fighting terrorism.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
