Prominent Egyptian rights activist with ties to Italy walks free from jail, rights defender says

CAIRO (AP) — A rights defender says a prominent Egyptian rights activist with ties to Italy has been released from jail. Patrick George Zaki, a postgraduate student in Italy, was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, along with five other people on Wednesday, according to the country’s Official Gazette. News of his release was announced by Hossam Bahgat, founder of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Bahgat posted a picture of Zaki on his Facebook page Thursday afternoon. Zaki was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this week over an opinion article he wrote in 2019, Egypt’s MENA news agency said.