A hearing is held today on the custody of Patrick Zaki, the Egyptian student of the University of Bologna for over a year in prison in Egypt on charges of subversive propaganda.
The hearing was expected for mid-March, after another 45 days of custody were inflicted on the young man on February 1, but as announced on Friday it was set for today: "at noon", one of his lawyers told ANSA , Hoda Nasrallah, referring to 11 am Italian time and anticipating that the outcome - as usual - will be notified only tomorrow (except for the release of indiscretions as happened last time).
The lawyers had announced that they will present to the judges "documents certifying the father's health conditions", which are very precarious.
Patrick's father has been hospitalized since last Sunday 21 February and suffers, among other things, from hypertension, diabetes and "fluctuations" in blood pressure, as shown by a medical certificate that ANSA was able to view.
A "deep vein thrombosis" in the feet was also suspected but tests (including a "doppler" echocolor) did not detect it.
The hearing is once again held at the 'Maahad human'a al shorta', the lawyer reported referring to the Institute for Police Assistants attached to the Tora prison complex, on the far southern outskirts of Cairo, where the 29-year-old is locked up in the prison called "Investigations".
His case is being closely followed by the Italian Embassy in Cairo as part of an EU monitoring mechanism.
Patrick was arrested under controversial circumstances on February 7 last year and underwent torture, according to his lawyers.
Amnesty International has warned that the young man faces up to 25 years in prison
.
Pre-trial detention in Egypt can last for two years but be extended further when other charges emerge.
After an initial phase of five months of fortnightly renewals delayed by the Covid emergency, now the case of Patrick is in that of 45-day extensions.
The charges against him are based on ten posts from a Facebook account that his lawyers consider fake but which have configured, among other things, the "spread of false news, incitement to protest and incitement to violence and terrorist crimes. ".
Zaki was studying at the Alma Mater in Bologna in a two-year Masters in Gender Studies (Gemma) but had been arrested upon returning to Egypt for holidays.