Patrick Zaki is free. The activist student was released from prison in Mansura and immediately embraced his mother and sister in a narrow street overlooked by the police station. Zaki came out of the police station dressed in a white tracksuit and sneakers, the symbolic color of the defendants in the Egyptian trials. As soon as he entered the police station door, from which he was released, he raised his hand with the index and middle fingers raised as a sign of “victory”. Patrick is now on the loose, but still on trial, with the next hearing set for February 1st. The Egyptian student from the University of Bologna appeared in good condition, with a slightly long but well-groomed beard, glasses and hair gathered in a pigtail. Yesterday the court decision to release him: he has not yet been acquitted of the charges for which he has been held prisoner up to now.
Egypt, Patrick Zaki was released from prison: the embrace with his sister and friends
“A hug that is worth more than many words,” comments Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Facebook. “I am proud of his resistance and his courage and incredibly amazed because Patrick Zaki has never failed to think about Italy, to take care of other prisoners, he is a model of defender of rights that we all admire”, says Riccardo Noury, spokesperson. by Amnesty International. «The images that come from Egypt of smiles and hugs that we have been waiting for for 22 months are filling us with enormous emotion. He regained his freedom, albeit temporarily, we hope that it becomes permanent ». For Riccardo Noury, the hardest moment «was certainly the period in which, due to the pandemic, not only were visits suspended but for him there was an enormous risk of contracting the virus, given that he is asthmatic. And also those 70 days that passed between one hearing and another in the trial ». Noury and Zaki still haven’t spoken to each other after their release. «For now we leave him alone, he must recover, in the next few days, even indirectly, we will see. Now it is important that you rest ».
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The president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, posting the image of the embrace between the young man and his sister at the exit of the Mansoura prison, writes «Here he is Patrick Zaki: just released from prison. The first hug. The image of a beautiful day, of hope ».
Zaki is free and the party explodes in Bologna, his teacher: “Now we hope he can go back to studying”
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Giovanni Molari, rector of the University of Bologna, defines this as «a day of celebration, even if we must not let our guard down until the charges are completely acquitted». He hopes that Patrick can “put these painful two years behind him and soon return to his studies here in Bologna, at his university. His place is here, in our community, together with his companions and teachers who can’t wait to embrace him again ».
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There were also many reactions from Italian politics. The president of the Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti, on Facebook, writes: «After 22 months of detention Patrick Zaki was released from prison! The image we’ve all been waiting for. The commitment to freedom continues! ». “A sigh of relief for all of us who are fighting for him – says Nicola Oddati, of the national leadership of the Democratic Party -. The battle for freedom and justice is not over yet and we must not let our guard down now, but today is a beautiful day ». Stefano Bonaccini speaks of “unjust imprisonment”.