Egypt’s forensics authority has handed over to the prosecutor general’s office its final postmortem report on the Italian student who was tortured and found dead in Cairo.

Giulio Regeni (28) had been researching independent trade unions in Egypt and had written articles critical of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government – prompting speculation that he was killed at the hands of Egypt’s security forces.

Egypt’s interior and foreign ministers both dismissed the notion of security forces being behind Regeni’s murder.

The prosecutor general’s office said it would not publicly disclose the contents of the report as the investigation was ongoing. Reuters was not able to obtain a copy to verify the contents.

However, a senior source at the forensics authority said that Regeni, a graduate student at Britain’s Cambridge University, had seven broken ribs, signs of electrocution on his penis, traumatic injuries all over his body, and a brain haemorrhage.

His body also bore signs of cuts from a sharp instrument suspected to be a razor, abrasions, and bruises. He was likely assaulted using a stick as well as being punched and kicked, the source added.

A second postmortem in Italy “confronted us with something inhuman, something animal”, Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano told Sky News 24 television last week.

Egypt’s initial postmortem report showed Regeni had been hit on the back of the head with a sharp instrument.

Rights groups say police often detain Egyptians on scant evidence and that they are beaten or coerced. Scores have disappeared since 2013, the groups say. Egypt denies allegations of police brutality.

Regeni was given a funeral in his home town on Friday and Italy’s prime minister once again insisted that those responsible be caught and punished.

Italy has sent investigators to work with Egyptian authorities in an effort to establish what happened to Regeni.

Reuters