Cambridge University researcher Giulio Regeni's 2016 abduction and unsolved murder of was an "awful" crime that "wounded" the free world, the British government tweeted on Monday - the fifth anniversary of Regeni's disappearance in Cairo.
"5 years ago today Giulio Regeni, Italian PhD student at Cambridge, was kidnapped and subsequently tortured and murdered in Egypt," read the tweet from the British embassy.
"An awful crime that wounded Italy, Europe and everyone standing for freedom and human rights' protection," the tweet added.
Egypt's authorities deny widespread suspicions its security services were behind Regeni's abduction in Cairo on 25 January 2016 and torturing to death over nine days, claiming Italy lacks evidence to try four security agents over the case (as Rome prosecutors requested this month)
At the time of his disappearance, 28-year-old Regeni was researching independent trade unions in Egypt - a politically sensitive topic.
Regeni's mutilated, half-naked body, bearing signs of severe torture was found in a ditch along the Cairo-Alexandria highway on 3 February 2016.
