Giulio Regeni was a Cambridge University PhD student who had travelled to Egypt to undertake research in Cairo. On the evening of January 25th 2016, Giulio went missing and his dead body was later discovered on the side of a highway on 3rd February, with evidence that he had been brutally tortured.
During this morning’s session Mr Zeichner said: “Two years ago today, on January 25th 2016, University of Cambridge PhD researcher Giulio Regeni went missing in Cario; his brutally battered body was recovered a week later. The crime sparked international outrage, and calls into question very basic academic freedoms.”
He went onto ask: “Can we have a statement from the minister on what the Government is doing to mark the event and also what pressure is being exerted on the Egyptian Government to find the truth about what happened to Giulio?”
Daniel Zeichner has long supported the Truth for Giulio Regeni campaign that Amnesty International spearheaded shortly after his body was discovered, travelling to Brussels in 2015 to meet Giulio's parents. Tonight Mr Zeichner will join others from Cambridge University and the city for a vigil to commemorate Giulio’s disappearance. A moment of silence will be acknowledge at 7:41pm to mark the last communication Giulio had before his disappearance.
Investigations by the Italian authorities continue however it is still not clear why Giulio Regeni was tortured and murdered, or who committed this, although it is widely believed to be the work of Egyptian state forces.
Tonight’s vigil will be held at Great St Mary’s Church, 8 Mill Lane, Cambridge CB2 1RX from 7:30pm.
Read statements from the University of Cambridge about the death of Giulio Regeni