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Murdered Cambridge PhD student had 'written articles critical of Egyptian regime'

Giulio Regeni, an Italian who had spent many years living abroad, was reportedly in contact with labour activists and had written articles for left wing newspapers

Cambridge University PhD student Giulio Regeni
Cambridge University PhD student Giulio Regeni

A Cambridge University PhD graduate student who was murdered in Cairo may have been in fear of the Egyptian security services because of newspaper articles he was writing, it has emerged.

Giulio Regeni, an Italian who had spent many years living abroad, was reportedly in contact with labour activists and had written analysis pieces for Il Manifesto, a Leftwing Italian paper.

Egyptian security stand guard outside the Zeinhom morgue in Cairo, where the body of Giulio Regeni, a 28-year-old Italian graduate student was held

He disappeared on Jan 25 and his body was found dumped in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo earlier this week.

In the last email he sent to the newspaper, on Jan 9, he requested that his latest contribution be published under a pseudonym.

"If you decide to use the article, use a pseudonym, because I'm worried," he wrote.

The article, which was published posthumously by Il Manifesto today, was critical of the Egyptian regime.

An ambulance leaves the Italian Hospital in Cairo, ahead of a private mass at the chapel inside the compound for slain Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni

The newspaper confirmed that Mr Regeni had expressed fears for his safety because of his research activities, especially regarding labour unions.

He had arrived in Cairo in October to continue his studies for his PhD at Cambridge.

There was growing speculation that Mr Regeni, who was at Girton College, may have been detained and killed by the Egyptian security forces.

The fact that some Egyptian officials claimed on Thursday that he died as a result of a traffic accident, despite evidence that he had been tortured with cigarette burns and his body mutilated, further raised suspicions.

Mourners gather at a church at the Italian Hospital in Cairo for a private mass for slain Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni

Italy has demanded a swift and comprehensive investigation into the killing. Rome has sent a team of seven specialist police officers to Cairo to shadow the investigation.

Mr Regeni, 28, from Italy's north-east, was attached to Cambridge University's POLIS, the Department of Politics and International Studies.

He disappeared on Jan 25, the fifth anniversary of the Tahrir Square demonstrations which led to the downfall of president Hosni Mubarak.