Bologna takes once again to the streets in protest to support Patrick Zaki

On Monday, 27 February, Bologna will be taking once again to the streets to support Patrick Zaki. The event, taking place from 6 p.m. in Piazza Nettuno, is promoted by Amnesty International and supported by the Town Council and the University of Bologna. On the eve of yet another hearing in his interminable trial, the city will be rallying once again around Patrick to demand that the Alma Mater’s student be allowed to return to Bologna, among his fellow students and citizens.

Deprived of his freedom and the possibility of resuming his studies in Bologna for more than three years, Patrick Zaki has never stopped fighting for the rights of all, even beyond his own personal case. With the patronage of the University of Bologna and the Town Council of Bologna, Amnesty International is once again launching an appeal to express its support and solidarity to Patrick in as concrete, lively and warm a way as possible, in the hope of being able to see him again soon among the porticoes of his adopted city.

Patrick Zaki was arrested in Cairo on 7 February 2020, while he was returning home for a short break before starting his second semester at the University of Bologna, where he had enrolled in the European GEMMA Master´s Degree in Women's and Gender Studies. He remained in prison for 22 months, until 8 December 2021, when the Court of Mansura decided to release him. Since then, however, he has been awaiting trial and is unable to return to Bologna to continue his studies. He is charged with “spreading false news inside and outside the country” and faces up to five years’ imprisonment.