Human Rights Researcher Patrick Zaki banned from peace conference due to Facebook post on Israeli PM

CAIRO – 15 October 2023: Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Friday that Human Rights Researcher Patrick Zaki was banned from attending a peace conference held in Brescia after he posted on Facebook describing Israeli Prime Minister as "a serial killer."

The same conference had given Zaki, researcher at the University of Bologna and who spent almost two years at Egyptian prisons, a peace award, which is now subject to calls of revocation.  

The researcher was arrested in February 2020, and remained in pretrial detention until December 2021. In July, he was convicted by Mansoura High Emergency State Security Court of spreading false news domestically and abroad, sentencing him to three years in prison. Yet, a day later, he was granted a presidential pardon.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated Sunday that the numbers of deaths and injuries since October 7 amounted to 2,384 and 10,150, respectively.

The casualties are mainly in Gaza Strip with 2,329 deaths, mostly children and women, and 9,042 injuries. In the West Bank, deaths and injuries stand at 55 and 1,100, respectively.

As for the Israeli side, deaths and injuries exceed 1,000 and 3,000, respectively. In addition, more than 150 have been held hostages by Hamas, which launched an offensive against Israeli settlements on October 7.