Thousands of academics demand inquiry into murder of Italian student

Over 4,600 academics from more than 90 countries have signed a letter demanding the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi investigate the murder of Giulio Regeni, a Cambridge PhD student from Italy who was found dead bearing signs of torture after disappearing in Cairo last month.

The letter, published in the Guardian on Tuesday, notes that, according to human rights organisations, state institutions in Egypt “routinely practise the same kinds of torture that Giulio is reported to have suffered against hundreds of Egyptian citizens each year”.

Read: Italy summons Egyptian ambassador over student’s death

It called for an independent investigation into Regeni’s death and “all instances of forced disappearances, cases of torture and deaths in detention during January and February 2016 … in order that those responsible for these crimes can be identified and brought to justice.”

The Italian foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni said in an interview with La Repubblica published on Monday: “We will not settle for alleged truths.” He added: “We want those really responsible identified and punished on the basis of law.”

The Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar has denied the Egyptian security was involved in Regeni’s murder.

The 28-year-old, who was researching labour unrest and independent trade unions, went missing on 25 January, the fifth anniversary of the start of Egypt’s revolution, amid a security crackdown.