Giulio Regeni: Cambridge vigil held to remember student

Dozens of people gathered for a vigil in Cambridge on Friday night

Dozens of people have attended a city centre vigil to mark the third anniversary of a student's death.

They gathered in Cambridge to pay tribute to Giulio Regini, whose body was found 10 days after he disappeared during a trip to Egypt in 2016.

Amnesty International has called for an independent investigation into the Cambridge student's murder.

Egyptian authorities deny Mr Regeni died in custody - but admit that security services were monitoring him.

The vigil at Great St Mary's Church included a minute's silence at 18:41 GMT, believed to be the time of last-known correspondence from the student.

A spokesman for Amnesty International said 100 similar vigils had been organised across Italy, including in Mr Regeni's home village of Fiumicello.

Giulio Regeni's body was found dumped in the outskirts of Cairo

Mr Regeni had travelled to Cairo to research trade unions - a politically sensitive subject in the country - as part of his doctorate studies at Girton College, Cambridge.

His body was discovered in a ditch on 3 February 2016. Officials said there were signs he had been tortured.

A Foreign Office statement condemned "the brutal manner of his killing" and said it remained "in contact with the authorities of Italy and Egypt".

There have been no arrests over Mr Regeni's death, although Egyptian authorities claimed a criminal gang responsible for his kidnapping and murder were killed in a shoot-out.

The death of Giulio Regeni has become a focus of human rights campaigns

Sue Woodsford, chair of Cambridge's Amnesty International group, said Mr Regeni's death was "a haunting reminder of Egypt's appalling human rights record".

"We reiterate our demand that a full, impartial and independent investigation is made into his terrible murder," she added.

Daniel Zeichner, Labour MP for Cambridge, told those gathered at the vigil in the city that he was "tiring" of waiting for the government to take the case seriously.

"We have to keep on working together to keep up the pressure," he said. "We will keep on asking questions until we get the answers."

Vigils have been held around the world by supporters demanding justice for the murdered student