An Italian student who disappeared while on his way to a birthday party in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, has been found dead, authorities said Thursday. The Italian government is demanding a full inquiry to determine the cause of death.
Giulio Regeni, 28, disappeared on January 25, the fifth anniversary of the start of the uprising that ended the 30-year reign of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The Reuters news agency, citing “security officials” whom it did not name, reported that Regeni’s body bore signs of torture.
Italians want to participate in investigation
“Obviously, we are very upset for what happened, and we asked the Egyptian government to cooperate and to allow the Italian authorities to be involved in the inquiry to understand what happened there,” said Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni. “It’s not acceptable that, if an Italian citizen is a victim — and in such a way is a victim — of a tragedy in Cairo, there is no cooperation.
“So I’m confident that the Egyptian authorities will cooperate with us to understand what happened, to establish the truth of what happened,” Gentiloni said.
Regeni went to Cairo to do research on Egyptian trade unions for his doctorate at the University of Cambridge, according to his resume.
After he disappeared, some of his friends launched a social media campaign to try to find him, using the hashtag #whereisgiulio.