Bologna University student Patrick
Zaki requested to be released as his trial started in the
Egyptian city of Mansoura on Tuesday, saying he has been on
prison for too long for the relatively minor nature of the
accusations he faces.
However, after a hearing lasting about five minutes, the trial
was adjourned until September 28 and the court ruled he must
stay in jail until then.
The Egyptian student of the University of Bologna has been held
in custody since February last year.
Zaki's lawyer, Hoda Nasrallah, also requested his release and
access to the dossier with the accusations against him.
Amnesty International Italia said Monday that the accusations
regarded something Zaki wrote in 2019 in defence of the Coptic
minority that he belongs to.
Zaki, 30, is pursuing an Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree in Women
and Gender Studies at the University of Bologna.
He also conducts research and advocacy on gender issues and
human rights for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
(EIPR), a human rights organization based in Cairo.
Petitions for his release have been rejected on countless
occasion.
Zaki was arrested on arriving at Cairo International Airport
when he returned home from Bologna for a short family visit.
The Egyptian National Security Agency reportedly arrested Zaki,
interrogated him about his time in Italy and his human rights
work, and took him to an undisclosed location.
During interrogation, he was allegedly frequently threatened,
beaten on his stomach and back and tortured with electric
shocks.
The European Parliament, Amnesty International and Scholars At
Risk have been among the bodies calling for his release, along
with the Italian government.
The Italian parliament has voted to urge the government to grant
Zaki Italian citizenship in a bid to pressure Egypt to release
him.
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