Patrick George Zaki

Motion Text

That this House is dismayed by the continued imprisonment of Egyptian student and human rights activist Patrick George Zaki; notes with concern that Mr Zaki was detained in early 2020 on a short return to his home country from his course at the University of Bologna and has now been held for over a year pending investigation; further notes that he has been accused of disseminating fake news and inciting to protest through his work and advocacy for the Cairo-based human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR); is concerned that other staff at the EIPR including Executive Director Gasser Abdel-Razek have also been targeted by the Egyptian Authorities; praises the work of organisations such as Amnesty and Scholars At Risk who have been raising international awareness of Mr Zaki’s case; and calls on the Government to make further representations to the Egyptian Government on Mr Zaki's imprisonment and welfare as a matter of urgency, and to urge the Egyptian Government to immediately and unconditionally release him.