Press release
By: CFJ
Geneva: July 18, 2023
On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, Egypt’s State Security Emergency Court issued a sentence of three years imprisonment for Patrick George Zaki, a social researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. This sentence is for case number 1086 of the year 2021, a state security emergency misdemeanor, linked to an opinion article published in 2019 about Coptic Christian rights in Egypt.
Zaki’s Arrest:
Upon the announcement of the verdict, Patrick was immediately arrested in the courtroom, as documented by the Committee for Justice. He is now slated for transfer to the Gamsa police station to serve his sentence, which under the Emergency Law, is non-appealable.
Pre-trial Detention:
For 22 months, Zaki endured pre-trial detention for the same case before his release. His arrest occurred on February 7, 2020, at Cairo airport upon his return from Italy—where he was studying for a master’s degree at the University of Bologna—for a brief family vacation. Initially, he was transported to a National Security Agency headquarters in Cairo, then blindfolded and moved to Mansoura. There, he faced questioning about his work and activities and was subjected to torture, including beating and electric shock, before his appearance before the Mansoura prosecution the following day.
Nearly two years of his pre-trial detention, Zaki was put on trial by the Supreme State Security Prosecution, based on Articles 80 and 102 of the Penal Code. The charge related to an article he had published in 2019 on the Daraj news website, in which he described a week of his life as an Egyptian Christian and his experiences with news about the conditions of Egyptian Christians, touching both private and public aspects.
Presidential pardon:
Zaki was awarded a master’s degree with honors from the University of Bologna in Italy last week. His MA thesis defense was conducted via video conference due to the ongoing travel ban related to his case. The Egyptian Emergency Law stipulates that the ruling does not become final until it is ratified by the President of the Republic, who has the power to approve, annul, or amend it, as well as the power to issue a presidential pardon for the sentence.
Verdict rejected by the Committee for Justice:
The Committee for Justice, on its part, firmly rejects the verdict, viewing it as a threat to freedom of expression in Egypt due to its issuance in a publication case. CFJ is calling for its termination and the immediate release of Zaki. Furthermore, CFJ objects to the verdict being issued by an extraordinary court, namely the Emergency State Security Court, and overseen by an extraordinary judge. CFJ demands a retrial within the framework of a regular court and under a regular judge. A fair trial with standard litigation norms must be guaranteed, as the existing court deprives the accused of these rights.