‘ABSURD’

Egyptian Grad Student Gets 3-Year Sentence for ‘Fake News’ Charge

The charge stems from a 2019 article that detailed his experiences as part of the Coptic Christian minority group in Egypt.

Patrick Zaki, an Egyptian graduate student and human rights activist charged with spreading “fake news” in an article he published in 2019, was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday. Police arrested Zaki, 32, in February 2020 when he returned to Egypt from Italy–where he was studying–to visit family. When interrogated about his activism work, authorities allegedly beat and tortured Zaki with electric shocks, according to his lawyers. The fake news charge stems from an article he wrote titled “Displacement, Killing and Restriction: A Week’s Diaries of Egypt’s Copts,” which detailed his experiences as part of the Coptic Christian minority group in Egypt. According to The New York Times the charge is common for Egyptians who use their voice on political matters. While Zaki pleaded not guilty in 2021 and was released on bail, he was barred from leaving Egypt during his trial. He continued his master’s degree and recently graduated after defending his thesis by videoconference. Zaki’s case had inspired an outpouring of support abroad amid an unprecedented crackdown on dissident voices in Egypt under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. His sentence comes as a major disappointment for activist groups, with an Amnesty International spokesperson calling the verdict “absurd and scandalous.”