An Egyptian human rights and political researcher has been sentenced to three years in prison for disseminating false information by a state security court in the Egyptian coastal city of Mansoura.
Patrick Zaki was arrested during a visit to his native Egypt in February 2020, when he was a graduate student at Italy's University of Bologna. He was charged with disseminating false information over an article he wrote about the plight of Egypt's minority Christians.
He served 22 months in pretrial detention before being released, pending the completion of his trial at an emergency state security court in Mansoura, his hometown. He was detained immediately after Tuesday's verdict and taken to prison, security officials said.
His time served in pretrial detention will be discounted from the sentence, they added.
Zaki's sentence cannot be appealed in a higher court but President Abdel Fattah El Sisi could have it annulled.
The board of trustees of the national dialogue, a state-sponsored forum mandated by Mr El Sisi to make recommendations on the country's future, appealed to the Egyptian leader to pardon the activist.
"For the President to take such a decision will add another assurance of his continuing commitment to create a positive climate for the national dialogue to succeed," a statement by the board read.
Zaki's case has drawn wide attention in Italy.
"Our commitment to a positive resolution of Patrick Zaki's case has never ceased ... it continues, we still have confidence," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement after the sentencing.
Mr El Sisi, in office since 2014, maintains that his government's intolerance of dissent was needed to restore stability and security to Egypt after years of turmoil and violence after a popular 2011 uprising.
His government says the nation's judicial system is fair and independent and that there are no political prisoners in Egypt.
Besides the national dialogue, Mr El Sisi has since April last year released hundreds of critics held in pretrial detention, allowed a carefully measured dose of freedom and permitted critics living in exile abroad to return home without the prospect of arrest.
But opposition politicians say the measures fall short of expectations and more is needed to ease the country's path back to democratic rule.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
