A high-profile Egyptian activist who was recently released from prison landed in Italy on Sunday to greet the government which had championed his case.
Patrick Zaki was greeted by applause as he emerged into the arrivals hall at Milan's Malpensa Airport after traveling on a commercial flight.
He was then continuing to Bologna, where he had been living and studying before being detained in Cairo in 2020.
“This is the most important day of my life,’’ Mr Zaki, 32, said as he made his way through the Milan airport.
Mr Zaki's case has echoed in Italy, reminding many of the tragic fate of Italian student Giulio Regeni who was abducted and killed in Cairo in 2016.
The Italian government had repeatedly called for Mr Zaki's release since his arrest in 2020.
He was pardoned last week, just days after an Egyptian court convicted him of disseminating false news, stemming from an article he wrote in 2019 about alleged discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt.
Mr Zaki, who is Christian, was arrested in February 2020 shortly after landing in Cairo for a brief trip home from Italy.
He spent 22 months in prison before being released in 2021 pending trial, on condition he remain in Egypt.
He received a master’s degree with distinction earlier this month from the University of Bologna, defending his thesis by video conference.
