Mystery over disappearance of Italian student in Cairo

An international search has been launched to find an Italian graduate student who has been missing since disappearing in Cairo last week.

The Italian foreign ministry urged Egyptian authorities on Sunday to help locate 28-year-old Giulio Regeni, a PhD student at Cambridge University in the UK and a visiting scholar at the American University in Cairo.

Regeni, a researcher of politics and international studies has been living in Cairo since September and was reportedly conducting fieldwork on the Egyptian economy. 

He was last seen in Cairo's Dokki suburb near the Behoos metro station at 8.00 pm on 25 January, the day marking the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian revolution.

His friends and family have since launched a twitter campaign using the hashtag #WhereIsGiulio to raise awareness about Regeni's disappearance.

"The Embassy in Cairo immediately activated direct communication channels from the very first hours after his [Regeni's] disappearance and coordinated activities with all the competent Egyptian Authorities," the ministry said in a statement.

"It is now awaiting information on the dynamic of the disappearance. The embassy and the ministry are keeping close contacts with Giulio's parents."

Regeni’s parents arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, according to Italian media reports.

Regeni's family is well known in northeast Italy where his mother a candidate in the last municipal elections in 2014.

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: "Our thoughts are with Giulio, his family and friends, and currently we are waiting to hear from the Italian authorities."

Italian newspapers report that for now the Italian foreign ministry has excluded that Regeni's disappearance could be linked to militant groups.

Amr Assad, a friend of Regeni, said he disappeared after leaving his home to meet a friend downtown, reported Alahram Online.

"That particular day he wanted to visit for a friend's birthday. He sent me a text message about that. When I called him back his phone was off. The next day... I knew from another friend who was waiting for him in the street that he never arrived," he said. "His phone was off since."

Malek Adly, a lawyer following Regeni's case, said it was unclear if there was a political motive for his disappearance, reported Reuters. 

"We have a precedent. There was a Croatian citizen who was kidnapped and slaughtered... We also have precedents where Egyptian security captures people and they disappear," he said.

Last year, IS militants kidnapped a Croatian man from the outskirts of Cairo and later beheaded him.

While such incidents are rare, there are many Egyptian activists who have been detained by police and coerced, while scores have disappeared since 2013.