An Egyptian court sentenced researcher and political activist Patrick George Zaki to a three-year prison sentence for spreading false news, on Tuesday.
He was arrested in February 2020 and charged with spreading false news, inciting protests without a permit, and intending to overthrow the government.
Since he was tried in Mansoura High Emergency State Security Court, the prison sentence cannot be appealed in higher courts. However, it can be ratified or annulled by the president.
The Board of Trustees of Egypt’s National Dialogue has appealed to President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to use his legal and constitutional authority to release Zaki. In a statement, the Board of Trustees said that Zaki’s recent achievement of a master’s degree at a young age demonstrates his commitment to the future of Egypt.
The statement concluded by saying that the president’s decision in this matter would demonstrate his unwavering dedication to fostering a positive environment for the success of the national dialogue.
Zaki is a postgraduate student at Bologna University in Italy and a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). He was detained at Cairo International Airport in February 2020 after he arrived from Italy for a family visit. He was held in pre-trial detention for 22 months before being released on bail in December 2021.
The charges against Zaki are based on an article he wrote in 2019 about the discrimination faced by Coptic Christians in Egypt. The article was published on the Daraj news website.
The European Union and European Parliament have called for Zaki’s release, and Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni has said that her commitment to a positive solution to the case has never ceased.
