The mood was somber as dozens of Egyptian activists, academics and foreign journalists gathered outside the Italian Embassy in Cairo on the afternoon of Feb. 6 to pay respects to slain Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni.
There was a heavy security presence in the small area that had been cordoned off by the police for the silent vigil. Security officers, many in plainclothes, watched nervously as the mourners laid wreaths and lit candles as a tribute to the 28-year-old researcher whose brutal killing sent shock waves across Egypt and the world.
