Patrick Zaki has thanked Italy for the
support given to him during his 22-month prison ordeal in his
Egyptian homeland after being released on Wednesday.
"Tutto bene (all well)," Zaki said in Italian after being
released in Mansoura.
Although Zaki, a 30-year-old Coptic doctoral researcher at
Bologna University, has been released, the charges against him
have not been dropped.
The next hearing in his case is scheduled for February.
"Thank you Italy," he said once he returned home with his
mother, sister and girlfriend.
"I hope to return soon".
Zaki's lawyer said it is not clear if he can leave Egypt.
The dean of Bologna University said his place was at the
institution.
Zaki was arrested on February 7, 2020, while returning to Egypt
for a holiday and 19 months of detention were justified on
charges of subversive propaganda made in 10 Facebook posts.
The indictment instead was based on charges of "spreading fake
news inside and outside the country" based on three articles
written by Zaki, including one in 2019 on Christians in Egypt
persecuted by ISIS and discriminated by fringes of Muslim
society.
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