A Rome court has convicted three Egyptian security officials in absentia for the kidnapping of Giulio Regeni, an Italian student whose tortured body was discovered in Cairo a decade ago. The men were sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping.
Mr Regeni, 28, was a Cambridge University doctoral student on a research trip in Egypt when he disappeared on 25 January 2016. His mutilated body was found days later in a ditch near Cairo, with an autopsy confirming he had been tortured and died from a broken neck.
Italian and Egyptian prosecutors initially investigated the case together but reached different conclusions. Egyptian authorities attributed the death to criminal gangsters and denied state involvement, while Rome prosecutors concluded the Egyptian national security agency was involved.
The convicted officials are Col Usham Helmi, Col Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim, and Maj Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif. A fourth defendant, Gen Tariq Sabir, was acquitted. Mr Regeni's family, who have campaigned for justice, welcomed the verdict.