2023-07-20 04:25:20
The pardoned man returns to Italy this Thursday, where he studies at the University of Bologna
MADRID, 20 (EUROPA PRESS)
The President of Egypt, Abdelfatá al Sisi, has issued a presidential pardon on Wednesday for Patrick Zaki, a human rights researcher, who had been sentenced the day before to three years in prison for “spreading false news about the internal conditions of the country” in an article he published in 2019.
The country’s authorities detained Zaki on Tuesday in a case for having written an article about the plight of Christians in Egypt. The trial was held under the Emergency Law that does not allow appeals before any court, but requires the formal ratification of the country’s president.
In this pardon, Al Sisi has also included several people who were in prison, including the prominent human rights lawyer Mohamed al Baqer, accused of joining a terrorist group and spreading false information, as reported by the Egyptian newspaper ‘Al Ahram’.
The Presidential Pardons Committee has explained that these measures have taken place in response to requests made by the Board of National Dialogue and other political forces, which consider that this decision “reaffirms the enthusiasm of the president to provide a positive atmosphere for the success of the national dialogue”.
Likewise, the country’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) has indicated that these new pardons are “a confirmation of the determination of the political leadership to advance in the field of Human Rights.”
“The successive releases of activists, whether they are serving sentences or in pretrial detention, confirm that there is a real will to open a new page with all political forces (…) and pave the way for a boom in Human Rights work based on respect for freedom of opinion and all civil and political rights of all citizens,” he pointed out.
TOUR OF ITALY
The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, has announced that Zachi will return to Italy this Thursday and has thanked the Egyptian president for the pardon granted, which he has described as an “important” gesture.
Likewise, Meloni has remarked that on the occasions in which he has met with Al Sisi “always” he has found attention and availability. The Italian head of government also thanked the intelligence and diplomats, both Italian and Egyptian, “who have not stopped working in recent months to reach the desired solution.”
According to some sources, the pardon has been the result of “a long and constant negotiation between the authorities of Italy and Egypt”, which has been led by the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who in recent months has carried out several missions in Egypt.
In this sense, Tajani has asserted that the pardon has been due “thanks to the foreign policy of the Government”: “We have contributed decisively to the release of this young student. Concrete results through work and international credibility”, he has published on his profile on the social network Twitter.
The US URGES THE RELEASE OF THE REST OF POLITICAL PRISONERS
The Government of the United States has reacted to the pardon granted by the Egyptian authorities in favor of Patrick Zaki and Mohamed la Baqer, “both unjustly detained for exercising fundamental freedoms.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller took the opportunity to urge Egypt “to release all unjustly detained political prisoners.”
“Progress in Human Rights will strengthen our bilateral relations,” declared the State spokesman, as indicated through his profile on the social network Twitter.
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