Eni CEO Descalzi Gives Evidence at Regeni Trial in Rome

Rome: Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi on Tuesday gave evidence at the Rome trial in absentia of four Egyptian security officials accused of torturing to death Italian student Giulio Regeni in January-February 2016. Italian energy giant Eni has significant research, exploration, and production activities in Egypt.

According to Ansa News Agency, Descalzi stated during the trial, “This atrocious murder remains a great mystery, I cannot imagine the reasons.” He recounted how he first learned about Regeni’s kidnapping and death in February 2016 through newspaper reports. Despite not being asked by Italian institutions to gather information, Descalzi felt compelled to speak with the Egyptian president and minister to seek clarity on the incident. He received reassurances but no clarification ever materialized.

Descalzi emphasized that the Italian foreign ministry never requested Eni to intervene. He delineated the company’s role, noting, “We are a listed company with a government stake in us. We have engineering skills
but we are not diplomats. We have no skills in this, it is the foreign ministry’s job and it could be dangerous to move in a field that is not yours.”

Regeni, a 28-year-old Friuli-born Cambridge University doctoral researcher, was found dead in a ditch on the Cairo-Alexandria highway on February 3, 2016, a week after his disappearance on January 25. He was allegedly abducted and tortured to death by National Security General Tariq Sabir and his subordinates, Colonels Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim and Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif. These officials are not attending the trial as Egypt refused to notify them of the proceedings.

Regeni was reportedly targeted due to the politically sensitive nature of his research into Cairo street unions, after being wrongly accused of espionage by a street seller union chief.