ROME – Paola and Claudio Regeni, parents of murdered Italian Cambridge student Giulio, have explained their heart-breaking struggle to achieve justice for their son despite obfuscation by Egyptian authorities and have questioned the bizarre lack of contact received from Giulio's Cambridge tutor.

 Nine months after Giulio Regeni’s brutally tortured body was discovered in Egypt, his parents spoke out in an interview with the Rome daily la Repubblica.

 When asked if they were willing to head to Egypt following the invite from Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the couple responded, “We are strong, just like Pope Francis has said, and we are ready to do whatever possible to achieve just a glimmer of the truth. We are available to meet the president el-Sisi.”

 The pair continued, “By now, we have become accustomed to interpreting every piece of news as a possible red herring. First the Egyptians talked about an accident, insinuating a road accident. It was a theory which reappeared in various versions -- but when it is used, it takes the responsibility away from someone else. We hope they are not preparing a great ‘production’ through scapegoats, meaning no one has to pay with their lives or their freedom for this crime.”

 Paola and Claudio expressed their satisfaction with the work carried out in Italy, stating, “Those in Rome are working so hard, it must be said, with actual affection for Giulio. Lots of sympathy, yet few concrete facts.”

 Giulio’s parents then went on to thank their lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini, senator Luigi Manconi and their legal team in Cairo, adding, “We thank them and also Amnesty International who, along with the collaboration of thousands of people, are keeping the ‘Truth for Giulio Regeni’ campaign alive.”

 The tables turned however when conversation switched to the response of Cambridge university and Giulio’s professors.

 “There is a collaboration at a bureaucratic level,” the couple began, then adding, “Giulio had great respect for his professor Maha Abdelrahman. Because of this, we cannot understand her behaviour -- we have honestly not heard from her since June when we met her at Cambridge.”

 In concluding the interview, Paola and Claudio were asked if they have had time to grieve for their son. They replied, “Just like we said to the pope, we are protesting and demanding justice for Giulio, for his tortured body and his democratic and unselfish thinking. Our pain will live with us always, it is within us, it is a part of our lives. But above all we remember Giulio, the suffering that he went through alone, in goodness knows where and with who. Raise that yellow banner for us, it is our shout of pain and of hope.”

 sw