Appeals to Egypt's El Sisi to pardon imprisoned activist Patrick Zaki

Trustees of the national dialogue ask for President 's intervention over jail sentence

Egyptian researcher Patrick Zaki was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday. AFP

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.