An Italian court in Rome has convicted three Egyptian security officials over the 2016 kidnapping of student Giulio Regeni. The verdict was delivered on September 28, a decade after his death.

The three men were tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years each for aggravated kidnapping. Major Magdi Sharif of Egypt's General Intelligence, police Colonel Hisham Helmy and Colonel Ather Kamal were found guilty.

A fourth defendant, former state security chief Tarek Sabir, was acquitted. The judge also dismissed a separate charge of conspiracy to commit murder against Sharif.

Regeni was 28 when he vanished in Cairo on January 25, 2016. The Cambridge PhD student was researching independent trade unions. His body was found days later bearing signs of severe torture.

Rome chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi welcomed the verdict. He said it was achieved despite 'less than wholehearted cooperation' from the Egyptian authorities.

Egypt has always denied any state role in the death. The convicted men are unlikely to ever be extradited. Regeni's parents were in court wearing yellow campaign badges as the verdict was read.