Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner has called for “further investigation” into the murder of Girton PhD student Giulio Regeni in Cairo earlier this year.

Writing in the New Statesman today, Zeichner said: “it is not only the tragic and needless death of a young man in his prime that is at issue – the principles of academic freedom are also at stake.”

“[Regeni’s] murder raises serious questions about how universities can safeguard their students, and risks limiting the ability of researchers to go about their work,” Zeichner went on to say.

He also recounted attending a parliamentary committee at the invitation of Isabelle de Monte, MEP for the Regeni’s native region of Udine. “I wanted to meet Giulio’s parents and see how British campaigners can work with Italian colleagues to get justice for Giulio”, wrote Zeichner.

Among the demands Zeichner said he hoped to take from Regeni’s parents to the UK government is for EU member states to use their embassies in Cairo “to offer sanctuary to people in Egypt who witnessed what happened to Giulio but are afraid to speak out.”

“There are people in Egypt who know what happened,” Zeichner insists. “Do friends kill each other’s children?” he wrote, echoing a question posed to the European Parliament by Regeni’s mother in June. “No they don’t – but someone murdered Giulio, and it is the duty of friends to bring them to justice.”

Regeni, 28, disappeared earlier this year while researching the trade union movement in Egypt for his PhD. Later, his body was found bearing wounds which some have claimed were typical of Egyptian state torture. Egyptian authorities said in March they had found and killed a gang responsible for his kidnapping and death, a claim which was immediately dismissed by Italian politicians and academics in Britain. Italian authorities are currently pursuing a full investigation into Regeni’s death.

Last week, in response to a perceived lack of cooperation from authorities in Cairo, Italy’s parliament began a move towards cutting a key defence contract with Egypt.

In June, the University of Cambridge strongly refuted allegations by a senior member of the Italian government that it had failed to assist ongoing investigations. In a statement to Varsity, a Cambridge spokesperson said the University was “fully committed” to assisting Italian prosecutors.