Target: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt
Goal: Cooperate with Italian authorities to ensure justice is served for murdered Italian academic.
Italian prosecutors have announced that they have proof that Egyptian security forces were reportedly responsible for the death of researcher Giulio Regeni. Regeni, a PhD student at Cambridge University, was researching unionization efforts among Cairo’s street vendors when he disappeared in January 2016. Over a week later, the 28-year-old’s body was found on the outskirts of Egypt’s capital bearing extensive evidence of horrific torture, including burns, bruises, and multiple stab wounds. Suspicion soon fell on members of Egypt’s National Security Agency, whose agents may have believed Regeni to be a spy.
Now, five Egyptian security officers have been charged with the murder by Italian magistrates. However, no extradition treaty exists between the two countries, and el-Sisi’s notoriously brutal regime has long held a reputation for protecting its agents from any punishment at home or abroad. This cycle of protection must be broken. Sign the petition below to demand that the officials in question be handed over to Italian authorities to stand trial for their reported murder of Regeni and ensure his family receives justice.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. President,
The murder of Giulio Regeni was a shocking violation of international law and a shameful example of the violence reportedly employed by your regime against any it suspects. Absurdly suspected of spying and creating social unrest, Regeni’s kidnapping, brutal torture, and untimely death have caused his family to suffer unjustly for years and have angered the people of Italy.
However, you have a rare chance to correct this cruel injustice. By aiding Italy’s legal system as it seeks to uncover the truth and deliver justice, you will have offered some small help in protecting human rights and the rule of international law. I demand that you surrender the officers suspected of responsibility for Regeni’s death to Italian legal authorities to stand trial without delay or excuse.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Alisdare Hickson
379 Signatures