ROME -- The mother of Giulio Regeni, the young Italian researcher killed in Egypt, has spoken out urging the Italian government to react strongly if no anwers emerge from the Egyptians by April 5.  “I recognised Giulio from just the tip of his nose.  What happened is not an isolated case, we are confident of a strong response from the government.”

 Paola Deffendi and her husband Claudio, the parents of the young Italian killed in Cairo under suspicious circumstances that are yet to be clarified by the Egyptian government, spoke at a press conference, convened by the President of the Commission for Human Rights Luigi Manconi, in the Senate on Tuesday.  Speakers also included the lawyer Alessandra Ballerini and a spokesperson for Amnesty International in Italy, Riccardo Noury.

 Throughout the conference it came to light that Regeni’s face was so badly disfigured after the torture that the only thing his mother could recognise him by was “the tip of his nose.”  It appeared that they had discussed whether to show the photo of Giulio’s corpse but had decided against it.  “You have no idea of the evil that there was on his face, what they had done, I saw the evil in the world,” said Paola Regeni.  “Maybe it’s from the period of fascism that we haven’t found a case of torture like Giulio’s.”

 A meeting between the investigative Italian and Egyptian teams will be held on April 5.  Talking of this Paola said, “If it’s an empty day, we trust in a strong response from our government.”  Regeni’s father detailed the movements of his son before his move out to Egypt adding, “Giulio was in a very happy period of his life, both personally and in his work.”  His mother was keen to add, “This is to remind everyone that Giulio had gone out to Egypt to do research.  He was a guy like many others, however he died under torture.  He wasn’t a journalist or a spy, but a contemporary guy who was studying.  Indeed, a boy of the future.”

 They completely denied that there was a possibility that their son was working for the secret services saying that they had frequent contact with their son and discussed his research in detail, including discussion about the people he had been in contact with in Cairo.  Their lawyer meanwhile commented on the rumours that there were drugs found near his body stating that the toxin screening shows that Regeni was “the cleanest guy in the world.”

 She also denounced the photos spread by the Egyptian authorities of a collection of Regeni’s items, saying that, “Apart from the identity documents, none of the objects that appear in the photo published by the Egyptian authorities belonged to Giulio.”  She did, however, conced that “There are some doubts over the wallet, but not the one with the word ‘Love’ written on it.”

 “I think that our ambassador to Egypt should be urgently recalled to Italy for consultation,” said Manconi.  He was also quick to speak of the need for a “revision of diplomatic relations between our country and Egypt, and the urgent need for concrete acts,” as well as the necessity of “the crisis unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to declare Egypt as an unsafe country.”

 Amnesty International also added the figures that in 2016 there have already been 88 reported cases of torture, resulting in eight deaths, launching an appeal to the football world, asking teams to take to the field holding the banner, “Truth and Justice for Giulio.”  The FIGC has already come back, saying that they will study the rules and support the initiative any way they can.  Andrea Abodi, President of the Series B Football League, also responded saying, “It is right that the world of football joins the request of the family, we must support it.  We’ll find ways to be able to respond to this appeal.”

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