A court in Rome has sentenced three Egyptian security officials to 10 years in prison over the abduction of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016.

The verdict was delivered on September 28 after a trial held in absentia. Major Magdi Sharif, Colonel Ather Kamal and Colonel Hisham Helmy were convicted of aggravated kidnapping. A fourth defendant, General Tariq Sabir, was acquitted.

A separate charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder against Sharif was dismissed. The men never responded to the charges, and Egypt denies any state role in Regeni’s death.

Regeni, a 28-year-old Cambridge doctoral student, disappeared in Cairo on January 25, 2016. His body was found nine days later showing signs of torture.

Rome’s chief prosecutor said the verdict came despite limited cooperation from Egypt. The case has strained Italy-Egypt relations for a decade.

Prosecutors had sought a life term for Sharif and 17-and-a-half years for the others. Italy’s Constitutional Court had cleared the in-absentia trial in 2023.