In Italy, a trial against four Egyptian security officers for the murder of the Italian doctoral student Giulio Regeni has been suspended.
The judges ruled on Thursday that the trial could not take place in the absence of the four accused because the prosecutor was unable to officially inform them.
For the family of the student who was killed five years ago, this was a "bitter" disappointment, said their lawyer, Alessandra Ballerini.
"It's a setback, but we're not going to give up."
The body showed severe signs of torture
The Egyptians are accused of kidnapping, conspiracy to murder and grievous bodily harm.
Regeni, who did his PhD at Cambridge University, disappeared in Cairo on January 25, 2016.
Nine days later he was found on the edge of a freeway.
His body showed severe signs of torture.
Regeni researched Egyptian trade unions in Cairo - a hot topic in the North African country.
The defendants are not in Italy and the Egyptian government refused to provide their contact details.
According to the court records, these are General Tarik Sabir, Lieutenant Colonels Athar Kamel and Uhsam Helmi, and Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif.
Dispute between Rome and Cairo
In May a judge ruled in a preliminary hearing that the reports on the investigations against the accused must have reached them.
However, the court did not agree with this view on Thursday.
The Egyptian side has always denied the involvement of security services in the 28-year-old's murder.
At first she claimed that Regeni had died in a traffic accident.
It was later said that he was the victim of a gang specializing in kidnapping foreigners that was later broken up.
Dealing with the investigation had repeatedly led to heated arguments between Rome and Cairo.
Italian media and Western diplomats had suspected members of the Egyptian security forces behind the crime.