Rome court convicts Egyptian agents for the kidnapping Giulio Regeni

The useful part

After around eight hours of deliberation, the court of assizes sentenced Major Magdi Ibrahim Abdelal Sharif and Colonels Uhsam Helmi and Athar Kamel Mohamed Ibrahim to 10 years each for aggravated kidnapping. Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Sharif, whom they accused of taking part in Regeni's torture and killing, and 17 years and six months for the other three. The court dismissed the charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder against Sharif.

How it works

• Regeni, 28, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, disappeared in Cairo on 25 January 2016 while researching independent street vendors' unions.
• Italian judges hand down 10-year sentences in absentia but do not find anyone guilty of Regeni's murder.A Rome court on Monday convicted three Egyptian security agents of kidnapping Italian researcher...
• Egypt never provided their addresses to Italian authorities, so they were formally untraceable, and they have never responded publicly to the allegations.
• His mutilated body was found nine days later on the road between Cairo and Alexandria, bearing signs of severe torture.
• The court found that Regeni was seized by Egyptian security services and taken to a building at their disposal on the outskirts of the capital, according to news agency ANSA.

What to take from it

It ruled that the evidence was not sufficient to convict the defendants of the torture and killing. Rome's chief prosecutor, Francesco Lo Voi, said the verdict recognised that those involved were linked to the Egyptian state. "The substantial part of the prosecution's case held," he said, adding that the result had been reache...

Details worth keeping

It did not convict any of them of his murder. A fourth defendant, General Tariq Sabir, was acquitted of all charges.