>>>ANSA/Zaki announces 'slight change' in Italy travel plans

(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 21 - Freed Egyptian researcher, human-rights activist and Bologna University alumnus Patrick Zaki said Friday there has been a slight change to his travel plans to Italy and he will now be flying out of Cairo no earlier than Sunday afternoon.
    He had been expected back in the country on Saturday.
    "There is a slight change in plans as it has come to our attention that the official documents lifting the travel ban will be finalised on Sunday at noon," Zaki said on Twitter.
    "So we will have to travel after that to be sure my legal situation is 100 per cent clear," he continued.
    "Rest assured Bologna, I'll be there in a couple of days, we just have to wait two more days," said Zaki.
    Earlier sources told ANSA the researcher who was released from police custody on Thursday after being granted a presidential pardon the day before would fly from Cairo to Milan Malpensa on Saturday on a scheduled flight with an Egyptian airline.
    Zaki had refused to accept a special flight made available by the Italian government and to meet with government representatives, the sources added.
    Amnesty International Italia said that the decision to return to Italy by scheduled airline was a gesture of independence, not of political opposition.
    "The reputation of human rights activists is based on their independence from governments,' said Amnesty spokesman Riccardo Noury.
    "They say thank you and express appreciation when things are done for them, as has been the case here; and in fact Patrick has repeatedly thanked the government and the embassy," he continued.
    "Deciding to travel on a scheduled flight is not a gesture of political opposition, but a gesture of independence," concluded Noury.
    Zaki also announced on social media on Friday that he would be in his university city of Bologna on Saturday morning to "crown the long-awaited dream".
    "The best feeling is freedom," he added.
    Earlier this month Zaki obtained a masters degree in women's and gender studies from Bologna University with the maximum grade of 110 with distinction, defending his thesis via video link after the authorities in his homeland refused permission for him to present it in person.
    He had been stuck in Egypt since February 2020 after being arrested at Cairo airport on charges of subversive propaganda connected to some Facebook posts while returning home to visit his family.
    Zaki then spent 22 months in pre-trial detention before being released in December 2021 but put on trial on separate charges of spreading fake news in relation to an article on the condition of Coptic Christians in Egypt and banned from leaving the country.
    On Tuesday he was convicted and handed a three-year prison sentence, which was subsequently overturned with a pardon from the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
    Meanwhile on Friday the local authorities in Bologna were busy organising the celebrations for Zaki's return.
    "It will be a party with all the people who have continued to shine a spotlight on his case, because this contributed to his release," said Deputy Mayor Emily Clancy, adding that the celebrations would probably be held in the central Piazza Maggiore.
    She added that the 'Free Zaki' banner still hanging on the town hall building would be removed in his presence.
    "It will be a moment of joy and emotion for the city that has never stopped fighting for his return, his freedom," said Clancy.
    "It will also be an opportunity for the city to thank Patrick Zaki, a tireless champion of the fight for freedom and human rights," she concluded. (ANSA).