Cambridge PhD student who disappeared in Cairo 'found dead in ditch'

Italian government has learnt of 'probable tragic end to this affair,' the foreign ministry said in a statement

Mr Regeni was in Cairo researching for his dissertation on the Egyptian economy

The body of a Cambridge University PhD student who went missing in Cairo last week has reportedly been found dumped in a ditch on the outskirts of the city.

There were signs of torture to the body of Giulio Regeni and his corpse had been partially burnt, according to the Egyptian media.

Mr Regeni, 28, from Italy's north-east, was a member of Girton College and was attached to Cambridge University's POLIS, the Department of Politics and International Studies.

He disappeared on January 25, the fifth anniversary of the Tahrir Square demonstrations which led to the downfall of president Hosni Mubarak.

But he was not involved politically with any of Egypt's dissident groups and the motives for the apparent murder are not clear.

It may have been a robbery that turned violent, the Egyptian media reported.