Free Patrick Zaki
Kaya Purchase / May 12 / Human Rights Abuse
On 7th February, 2020, Patrick George Zaki returned home to Egypt from Italy to visit his family. He was studying his Masters in Women and Gender Studies at Bologna University. Upon arrival at Cairo International Airport, he was arrested, handcuffed and blindfolded. He was allegedly interrogated for seventeen hours before being taken to an undisclosed location where he was subjected to beatings and electric shocks. He was later transferred to a detention facility and has been in detention ever since, repeatedly being transferred to different facilities.
The allegations against him are varied, but all relate to his human rights research. The most extreme allegations are ‘attempting to undermine the social order and public safety’ and ‘incitement to commit violence and terrorist crimes.’ Others include ‘spreading false news’ and ‘attempting to disturb social peace and sow chaos.’ There has been no evidence presented to back up any of the accusations against Patrick. Human rights charities such as Scholars at Risk (SAR) believe that he has been targeted because of his work to promote women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. Before studying his Masters he was a researcher for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and his work there focused specifically on gender and sexual minorities.
In September 2019, there were scattered protests across Egypt against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The government response to these peaceful protests was a mass crack-down on what they defined as ‘dissenting voices’. At least 4,000 individuals were arrested, including journalists, human rights lawyers, activists, and political figures, whether they had actively taken part in the protests or not. One of these individuals was Ahmed Samir Abdelhay Ali. He also was accused of spreading false news, as well as funding terrorist groups. This was despite his declaration in court that due to living on a scholarship while studying he could not even afford a direct flight to Egypt. ‘I had to take the twelve hour one,’ he said, arguing the implausibility of him being able to fund a terrorist group. His occupation? He is a researcher, specialising in women’s reproductive rights.
Once again, no evidence was provided to support the allegations. There appears to be a common pattern to these types of arrest: lengthy interrogation about the individual’s human rights work followed by torture by electrocution, followed by pre-trial detention for an indefinite time with no promise of a trial. Laws have recently been changed in Egypt to ensure that any form of political dissent can now be defined as terrorism, which enables authorities to imprison protestors and human rights workers without needing to provide any evidence. This is due to the expanding involvement of the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) in Egypt’s justice system. The SSSP is the branch of Public Prosecution that deals with ‘state security.’ They are being utilised to attack individuals who voice opinions that oppose the government. Amnesty International has expressed alarm at the severity of their approach, stating that they ‘misuse counter-terrorism legislation to detain individuals for acts that should not even be criminalised, such as expressing critical views of authorities, engaging in human rights work or waving a rainbow flag.’ Ahmed shared some online comments, criticising the government’s treatment of Sarah Hegazi, a queer feminist activist who killed herself in June 2020 after being imprisoned for almost three years. Now Ahmed has been met with the same treatment himself for daring to highlight government culpability for his friend’s death.
It appears that Patrick Zaki’s arrest warrant was released during the 2019 crackdown. Whilst in Italy, he himself shared some comments highlighting how Egyptian NGOs are often attacked by the authorities. This is one potential reason that he has been targeted. Patrick and Ahmed are just two of at least 3,700 people in pre-trial detention for vocalising political views that oppose the current government.
Such mass imprisonment is especially alarming given the inhumane conditions of Egyptian prisons. In their January 2021 report Amnesty International interviewed 67 individuals across 16 different prisons, 10 of whom died in custody over the course of the interviews. They discovered that cells were unbearably overcrowded, the recent crack-down adding increased pressure to prisons already well overcapacity. This of course renders inmates particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Irregular access to water, washing and toilet facilities, lack of provision of hygiene products such as toothbrushes and sanitary towels, inadequate provision of food, little or no fresh air and exercise, prolonged solitary confinement and the denial of contact with family members are just some of the conditions that those incarcerated have to contend with. On top of this there are reports of medical treatments being withheld and inmates being denied access to doctors when sick. Often painkillers like paracetamol are distributed as an alternative to proper medical examinations. Perhaps the most alarming factor of all however, is that those of the prisoners who have been incarcerated by the SSSP are often denied legal representation.
What began as a 15 day period of pre-trial detention has been extended a further 45 days for Patrick. According to human rights journalist Riccardo Noury, this 15 day imprisonment is an intentional attempt to silence people who authorities then hope will be forgotten and left without trial. It is imperative that we do not forget Patrick, Ahmed and others like him. The network of suffering woven by these tactics must be exposed and put to a stop.
To take action to support Patrick Zaki you can sign a petition here: Patrick George Zaki, Egypt | Scholars at Risk
You can take action to support other ‘Prisoners of Conscience’ arrested by SSSP by visiting the following page and scrolling to the bottom: PERMANENT STATE OF EXCEPTION | Amnesty International