The Mansoura Appellate Court has turned down an appeal to release activist Patrick George Zaki on Saturday.
A researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Zaki was detained for 15 days pending investigations.
His charges include spreading false news, inciting demonstrations without obtaining a permit, encouraging the toppling of the regime, and managing and using an account on the internet to disturb public order and harm national security.
Zaki was arrested by Egyptian authorities at the Cairo Airport following his return from Italy on February 9, through a decision made by the Public Prosecution’s office in Mansoura.
During the appeal’s hearing on Saturday, the judge allowed lawyers from the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, the EIPR, and Egyptian and Italian civil society organizations to attend, alongside the presence of Italian journalists and representatives from the Italian embassy and the European Commission.
Demanding their client’s release, Zaki’s lawyers cited incorrect procedures made during the arrest and improper investigations leading to the arrest.
Zaki’s father refused to comment on the situation, saying “We are bound by the law and do not want to make any press statements.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
