Willy Monteiro Duarte was beaten to death after coming to aid of friend.

Marco and Gabriele Bianchi have been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Willy Monteiro Duarte, a 21-year-old Cape Verdian-Italian beaten to death by a gang near Rome in September 2020.

The verdict was greeted by applause in the courtroom in Frosinone on Monday as the Bianchi brothers yelled and cursed at the officers taking them away, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

• Italy mourns Willy, beaten to death by gang

Two accomplices of the Bianchi brothers, Mario Pincarelli and Franceso Belleggia, received sentences of 21 and 23 years in jail respectively for their role in the murder, reports La Repubblica newspaper.

Monteiro Duarte died following a brutal assault, in a hail of punches and kicks to the head, after he had stepped in to defend a friend in a fight in Colleferro on 6 September 2020.

The Bianchi brothers, both mixed martial arts (MMA) practitioners, rejected all accusations of their part in killing Monte Duarte, a cook who grew up in the nearby town of Paliano and had recently received Italian citizenship.

• Italy: Willy died of multiple injuries to chest, abdomen and neck

In October 2020 Italy's president Sergio Mattarella conferred a posthumous gold medal for civil valour on Monteiro Duarte in recognition of his "exceptional selfless fervour and extraordinary determination" in defence of a friend in difficulty, in an attempt to "favour a peaceful solution to a heated discussion."

Cover photo: Gabriele and Marco Bianchi