The news of Patrick Zaki's
presidential pardon in Egypt is a "great joy for Bologna", mayor
Matteo Lepore said on Wednesday.
"It is a great joy for Bologna, I hope it means embracing him
soon and having him back in the city," said Lepore of the
Bologna University alumnus who was sentenced to three years in
prison for allegedly spreading fake news by a Mansoura court on
Tuesday before being pardoned.
The mayor also thanked "all the activists who have worked for
Patrick Zaki: Amnesty, the rector, Professor Rita Monticelli,
the successive governments and also this last government, which
has dialogued with Egypt".
"I will stop here for now; we are waiting for more news and we
hope that Patrick can leave the country so we can have him here,
I want to repeat that it is a great joy for Bologna," he
concluded.
Bologna university rector Giovanni Molari said the news of the
presidential pardon "fills us with joy".
"After yesterday's anguish, it is a moment of unexpected relief
and great happiness for the entire Alma Mater. We hope this is
the end of more than three years of waiting and disappointed
hopes," he added.
"We are waiting to know the details, but we are confident that
the moment we have been waiting for for so long will soon
arrive: to welcome Patrick back to Bologna, to his university,
and to give him a big graduation party that will ideally be a
party for the whole city and the whole country," Molari said.
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 was arrested at Cairo airport in February 2020 and held in
pre-trial detention for 22 months until December 2021, when he
was released but put on trial on separate charges and banned
from leaving the country.
Bologna Archbishop Cardinal Matteo Zuppi also expressed his joy
"for the announced forthcoming release of the young man".
Zuppi, who is currently visiting Washington as the Pope's envoy
on Ukraine, said he hoped to be able to meet Zaki soon "to
rejoice with him and share faith and hope".
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