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06 February 2021 One year in prison without trial.
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the arrest in Egypt of Patrick Zaki, who has since been behind bars in the infamous Tora prison.
Four days ago came the last cold shower on the hopes of his release, with the renewal of the custody - yet another - for another 45 days.
The news was confirmed to the Egyptian student's lawyers only the day after some pro-government media had published the outcome of the hearing.
Already on other occasions the hope of his imminent release had been kindled, which then promptly remained so.
For example, at the end of December, when the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (Eipr), the NGO for the defense of civil rights with which Zaki collaborated, announced - following the release of his three executives - that the hearing for the renewal of the 29-year-old's imprisonment had been brought forward.
A signal, it was hoped, that something was moving.
None of this and Zaki, who attended the Alma Mater University of Bologna, continues to remain in prison on charges of subversive propaganda.
Sources from the Farnesina expressed "profound disappointment and disappointment" at the outcome of the hearing in recent days.
The Foreign Ministry, the sources assured, will continue to closely follow the story which, on the initiative and continuous Italian impulse, is the only judicial case in Egypt that is constantly monitored by a group of foreign countries.
"It is unimaginable that there will be another 12 months of detention without trial for Patrick Zaki", commented Riccardo Noury, spokesman for Amnesty Italia, speaking of "arbitrary and cruel" detention.
"If the Egyptian government plans to keep Zaki in jail without trial for 24 months", the maximum foreseen by the law on pre-trial detention, "we must with our campaign prevent this from happening", continues Noury, hoping that "the Italian government understands that the key to Patrick's cell is also in his hands "and therefore redouble" diplomatic efforts to reach a positive solution to the affair ".
In recent months there have been hearings in which Zaki's preventive detention was renewed for 15 or 45 days each time, despite numerous appeals and initiatives from the Italian government, politicians, activists and associations.
On November 22, the Italian ambassador in Cairo, Giampaolo Cantini, following the request for a meeting also expressed by other European countries to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry already in the phases immediately following the arrests of Eipr activists, had an interview with the Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for Human Rights, Ambassador Gamaleddin.
On that occasion, the Italian diplomatic representative had expressed strong concern for the tightening of the repression against civil society and for the situation of human rights in Egypt, reiterating the request for a prompt release of the student.
Patrick's sister: "Unfounded accusations against him"
Those made against Patrick Zaki are "unfounded accusations, with no evidence of involvement in an indefinite crime".
This was stated by Marise Zaki, sister of the Egyptian student of the Alma Mater University of Bologna, in an interview with 'La 7' on the anniversary of the arrest.
Patrick Zaki "deals only with human rights and is interested in minority issues in his country", assured Marise, 24 years old and a degree in Business Administration, speaking for the first time on an Italian TV.
"We do not know when this nightmare will end - he added - We discovered that my brother could remain in prison for a year, two years or perhaps more, and it is not known if he will ever be released".
Marise Zaki therefore wanted to thank, also on behalf of her family, "the University of Bologna, the teachers, the students for their interest and the unremitting support of Patrick" and "the city of Bologna for hosting Patrick for a short but important period during which Patrick has grown very fond ".
"I would like to thank all the cities that have granted Patrick honorary citizenship, the Italian and European universities that support Patrick and the European and Italian civil society institutions", he concluded.