(ANSAmed) - MANSOURA, 28 SET - The second hearing in the trial of Patrick Zaki, the Egyptian student of the University of Bologna who has been in prison in Egypt for nearly 20 months, began on Tuesday in Mansoura, on the Nile Delta.
Journalists were admitted to the courtroom but photos and videos are prohibited.
Among the approximately 50 people present in the courtroom were Patrick's father George, his sister Marise and a director from the NGO "EIPR" where Patrick worked as a researcher.
The defendant's cage was empty.
As in the first hearing on 14 September, Tuesday's hearing will once again take place before a State Security Court for minor (or emergency) crimes.
During a multiple-hour session in the new wing of the old Justice Palace, several dozens of cases will be heard starting mid-morning.
At the last hearing, which lasted just a few minutes, the adjournment to 28 September was announced around 3 p.m. local and Italian time.
Given the type of court, it is assumed that the charge against him, which will be debated today on the basis of three journalistic articles, is that of "spreading false news inside and outside the country", a crime punishable with up to five years in prison.
The court can issue a non-appealable ruling at any hearing.
However, one of Zaki's attorneys already confirmed that other charges remain, which will likely be dealt with separately, including those of "undermining national security" and instigating protests, attempting "to overthrow the regime" and "the use of violence and terrorist crime".
Those charges are based on 10 Facebook posts attributed to Zaki but whose attribution is disputed.
The charges carry the risk of 25 years in prison, according to Amnesty International, or even life in prison, according to Egyptian judicial sources.
As with all the past hearings to extend Zaki's pre-trial custody, it is likely that an Italian diplomat will attend Tuesday's hearing as part of an EU trial-monitoring that involves non-EU countries such as Canada. (ANSAmed).
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