Gaetano Manfredi, Minister of University and Research, and Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, are currently working to obtain information, through diplomatic channels, about the case of student Patrick George Zaky, who has been arrested and detained in a prison in Egypt. Patrick is a student on an international master’s degree in gender studies, organized by the University of Bologna in collaboration with other renowned European Institutes.
The University of Milano-Bicocca wishes to express its strong solidarity with Patrick George Zaky and his family and with all the students who are now calling for truth and freedom to be protected and for the investigation to be conducted with respect for human rights.
Patrick is not only a student of the University of Bologna, but a student of every university in Italy and the world. This case evokes memories of the tragic recent story of Giulio Regeni. We do not want to witness a repeat of this incident and we must therefore act quickly so that Patrick can return to Italy.
“The University of Milano-Bicocca,” commented the Rector Giovanna Iannantuoni, “will always support freedom of research, a founding principle of universities that contribute to the full development of a democratic society.”