Britain's 'double standards' slammed in case of killed Egyptian

Under scrutiny in Europe for its handling of the torture death of an Italian student in Cairo, Egyptian authorities are now seeking answers on the fate of an Egyptian who died in a London fire.

But several Egyptian MPs have denounced "Western double standards" over the UK's approach to both cases.

"While Western media circulated horrible stories about how the Italian student was tortured before he was murdered, they now keep silent about how the Egyptian young man was burned to death in a London car garage," the Conservatives Party said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement was referring to Egyptian citizen Adel Habib, who died on Tuesday after his garage in west London was set on fire in a suspected arson attack, and Italian researcher Giulio Regeni, whose mutilated body was found in a ditch outside Cairo in February.

Omar Hashish, a leading official with the Conservatives Party, condemned the assertion by Western media that Regeni was killed at the hands of Egyptian police.

He also accused British security authorities of causing "heavy damage" to Egypt's tourism industry by asserting "too early" that a Russian plane crash that killed all 224 passengers on board in Sinai last year was caused by a terrorist attack.

The MPs challenged British authorities to use their "intelligence" to solve Habib's "murder", as well as the deaths of other Egyptians in Britain, including renowned actress Soad Hosni, who was found dead in London in 2001, and Ashraf Marawan, a high profile Nasser-era official who was also found dead in London in 2007.

Journalist and independent MP Mostafa Bakry said that the British government was responsible for finding the truth about Habib's death.

"We will not point fingers at random and accuse the [British] government of being responsible for the incident, as they did with us in the cases of Regeni and the Russian plane," he said in a tweet.

"Instead, we will wait for the truth about the killer, which the British government is responsible to explain to the Egyptian public opinion," he added.

"Habib is no less valuable to us than Regeni was the Italian government and people."

While Western media circulated horrible stories about how the Italian student was tortured before he was murdered, they now keep silent about how the Egyptian young man was burned to death in a London car garage - Egypt's Conservatives Party

Former foreign minister Mohamed al-Orabi, who was recently elected as chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said described Habib's death as "a very dangerous development", pledging to make the necessary contacts to uncover more details about the case.

Salah Hassaballah, spokesperson for the Freedom Party, told reporters that the parliament would hold an extraordinary session "as soon as possible" to discuss the case.

"I think that just like the EU parliament held a session on Regeni, our parliament has a duty to do the same about Adel Habib," he said.

Adel Habib

Egyptian officials and MPs were not the only ones who drew parallels between the cases of Habib and Regeni.

Social media users launched the Arabic-language hashtag #WeWantJucticeForAdelHabib to demand that British authorities solve the case, while comparing the suspected murder with Regeni's.

"The BBC writes a story every ten minutes about Regeni and it won't mention Adel who was burned alive in London? Why isn't the damn BBC saying anything?" one user tweeted.

Habib's friends have also started an online campaign to ensure that the authorities get to the bottom of the case.

"It is important to us that justice is seen to be served and the truth revealed as to why this very bright, highly educated, well brought up young man should lose his life in such a brutal and inhumane manner," said the campaign's creator, Maryouma Faragalla.

It is important to us that justice is seen to be served and the truth revealed as to why this very bright, highly educated, well brought up young man should lose his life in such a brutal and inhumane manner - Maryouma Faragalla

The British government has opened an investigation into the circumstances of Habib's death.

"A man in 20s was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life," the British Embassy in Cairo said in a statement on Wednesday.

The embassy added that the UK government was cooperating with Egypt's foreign ministry and consulate in London throughout the investigation "to maximise the chances of achieving justice in the courts in this case".

The office of Egypt's President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has also weighed in on the case.

"The Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt extends its sincere condolences to his family," read a statement from Cairo.

"The Egyptian State places great importance on preserving the lives of its citizens inside and outside of Egypt."

Giulio Regeni

On Monday – the day Habib's garage was set ablaze – the Foreign Office in London issued a statement urging Egyptian authorities to consider the possible scenario that Regeni was killed by security services.

"Three months after Mr Regeni's death, we are disappointed by the limited progress made in the case and are concerned that Italy has not found the cooperation that Egypt has provided to them to be sufficient," it said.

Earlier this month, the British government demanded a "full and transparent" investigation into Regeni's torture and murder.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement after more than 10,000 people signed a petition demanding action from the government.

Three months after Mr Regeni's death, we are disappointed by the limited progress made in the case and are concerned that Italy has not found the cooperation that Egypt has provided to them to be sufficient - UK Foreign Office

"We have raised his case with Egyptian authorities in both London and Cairo and underlined the need for a full and transparent investigation," a Foreign Office spokesman said in a statement at the time.

"We remain in contact with both the Italian and Egyptian authorities. Our thoughts are with Mr Regeni's friends and family at this difficult time."

Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian PhD student who was researching Egyptian trade unions, went missing in Cairo on the evening of January 25, the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that overthrew veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.

His mutilated body was found a week later at the side of a road on Cairo's outskirts, with analysts suggesting he died at the hands of security services during an interrogation, an allegation the Egyptian government has strongly denied.