“May peace, serenity, love reign on this holy day in our hearts and enlighten our lives and that of my colleagues, my friends and my dear Bologna, my adopted land. Merry Christmas to all of Italy! ». Ѐ Patrick Zaki’s greeting message, tweeted on the evening of Christmas Eve, his first holidays at liberty after spending almost two years in prison in Egypt. The student of the University of Bologna was released from prison on December 8, pending a hearing scheduled for February 1. His family is of Coptic religion and will celebrate Christmas on January 7th.
Zaki had been detained since February 2020 and formally accused of “spreading false news inside and outside the country,” deemed laughable and false by independent observers. He was released from prison but was not acquitted: the charges against him remain standing, and he will have to present himself at a hearing to be held on February 1 in Egypt.