Egyptian authorities release rights activist Patrick George Zaki after he spent nearly two years in jail in a case that has drawn significant international attention.
“Patrick has been just released,” the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, which Zaki worked for as a gender rights researcher, says in a Facebook post, attaching a photo of Zaki out in the street.
The 29-year-old rights advocate and student at the University of Bologna in Italy was charged with spreading false news about Egypt, both domestically and abroad — charges that stem from a 2019 opinion piece he wrote on discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt.
He was arrested in February 2020 shortly after landing in Cairo on what was supposed to be a short visit home from Italy.
Zaki’s arrest and trial became front-page news in Italy and sparked a wave of student protests there. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has vowed to continue following Zaki’s case.
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Wednesday, December 8, 2021
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