How activism on social media lead to the torture of ‘forgotten’ Patrick in a Cairo jail
European writer and photographer Mary Fagioli investigates the story of a Bologna student who is facing 25 years over his views on Facebook
More than a year has passed since the detention of the Egyptian student from the University of Bologna, but it appears nothing is happening to free him.
There appears to be no way out for Patrick George Zaki, a master’s student in gender studies, who is known for his views on human rights.
And, it appears, he was arrested over social media posts.
When he got off the plane at Cairo airport in February last year he was expecting to see his family again.
But he was arrested on charges ranging from threatening national security to terrorism propaganda.
Since then, it is claimed by his lawyer, he has been tortured and court hearings have been cancelled one after the other.
Patrick was first held in Talkha, then in Mansure and finally in Tora.
According to Amnesty International, Egyptian law could wait for up to two years without sentencing. And he could face up to 25 years in prison.
The mobilization of the world of politics
After a series of petitions, including Change.org and Amnesty, questions also reached the European Parliament.
The granting of Italian citizenship – which would give consular protection to Patrick, aged 29 – was passed to the Senate , with 208 ‘yes’ votes and 33 abstentions.
Among the abstainers were the senators of the Brothers of Italy. Life senator Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor, from Milan, defending freedom and sympathizing with him as an innocent detainee.
Two days later however, Prime Minister Mario Draghihe placed the decision-making responsibility on Parliament .
The analogies with the Regeni case
The lawyer reports that the activist was tortured by electric shock and beaten.
They recalled the case of Giulio Regeni , which ended with his death. T
he Cambridge researcher was in Egypt for his doctorate, and following his kidnapping a body was found near a secret service prison, tortured to the point of being unrecognizable even to his mother.
There is a sharp surge in violence and systematic disappearances under the al-Sisi regime.
He came to power after the 2013 coup d’état, with denials of human rights, although the Coptic minority considers it a barrier against fundamentalism.
Egypt in 2020, according to Reporters Without Borders’ annual monitoring, is the third country in the world for detention of journalists . China is in first place, followed by Saudi Arabia. What remains of the Regeni case is an embarrassing cover-up and the uncooperative attitude of the Egyptian government.
The effects of Italian citizenship
Recognizing Patrick Zaki as a citizen of the Italian community is a gesture imbued with a strong humanitarian sense , although one wonders what real effects it could have, whether in the course of work the new legal status can prevail or will there be a diplomatic action from the weight specific limited, as in the Regeni case, which could be ineffective in the short term. In any case, the only solution that currently lies ahead is to resist .
Mary describes herself in this way: I take delight in writing that which flows slowly into the essence. Graduated in Italy and later in the UK, the world is my home. I passionately observe, read, type, and take photographs. A good piece begins on tiptoe and shapes words through a magic surgical pen
#cairo #patrickzaki #torture #sociamedia #jail