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The call for entries to “Free Patrick Zaki, prisoner of conscience”, a special edition of Poster For Tomorrow, will be open from 8 to 28 January. The competition is organised by Amnesty International Italia, Conversazioni sul futuro, Diffondiamo idee di valore in collaboration with Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Articolo 21 Association, Human Rights Festival and with the support of numerous public administrations and other partners. The aim of the contest is to join the women and men across the globe who are calling for the immediate release of the Egyptian student Patrick Zaki, who has been detained in prison as a prisoner of conscience for about a year, due to his work for human rights and for his political opinions expressed on social media. The ten best posters, selected by our jury team, will be printed and posted between 7 and 8 February (the anniversary of his detainment and confirmation of his arrest), in the cities, public and private spaces that will join the initiative. All the details will be explained on Monday 4 January at 18:50 with a live stream on Facebook and YouTube during a special episode of the web show “Sette meno dieci”.

THE APPEAL
On 7 February 2020 Patrick Zaki, an Egyptian postgraduate student of the Gemma (Master Erasmus Mundus on “Women’s and Gender Studies”) at the University of Bologna, was stopped at Cairo International Airport just after landing with a flight from Italy. After several hours of forced disappearance he reappeared the following day in front of the public prosecutor’s office of Mansoura for the confirmation of his arrest.
The arrest warrant contains allegations of being a threat to national security, incitement to illegal protest, subversion, spreading false news and terrorism propaganda. After exhausting postponements the first two hearings of the trial were held in July. In the second, on Sunday 26 July, the young student, who had visibly lost weight, finally met his lawyers for the first time since his arrest on 7 March.
On 25 August, once again the first time since March, he saw his mother for a short conversation. On 7 December the judge of the third section of the antiterrorism court in Cairo extended his pre-trial detention for 45 days.
On 19 December Patrick met his mother again at the Tora Prison. “I am physically and mentally exhausted. I can’t deal with being in here anymore. At every stage of the academic year I’m getting increasingly depressed by being here instead of being with my friends in Bologna”, he told her. Over the past few months the family has received only two short letters out of the at least 20 that Patrick has written and sent.
We believe that Patrick Zaki is a prisoner of conscience, held exclusively due to his work for human rights and due to the political opinions expressed on social media. We dedicate this initiative to all prisoners of conscience who have been kidnapped, tortured, disappeared and detained unlawfully. And to all those young women and men who travel the world to study, research, share and build a better society.

ORGANIZERS
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization committed to defending human rights. The aim of Amnesty International is to promote, independently and impartially, the respect of the human rights ratified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to prevent the violation of the aforementioned rights.

Poster For Tomorrow began in 2009 as a way for a group of designers to bring attention to the issue of the widespread use of censorship throughout the world. It quickly grew into an international movement to promote the right to the freedom of expression of every man and woman, the abolition of the death penalty, the right to education, gender equality, the right to housing and work. Over the years it has developed to include a vast community of designers, actively involved in social communication and over 100 debates, 1500 exhibitions and 300 workshops have been organised in schools and universities across the world. During the course of the first eleven editions of the competition over 45,000 posters have been submitted from all over the globe.   
 
Over the past ten years the cultural association DIV – Diffondiamo idee di valore has promoted the organisation of social and cultural events in Apulia. Its main projects are the multi-disciplinary festival “Conversazioni sul futuro” (since 2013) and the political journalism and communication festival “Io non l’ho interrotta” (since 2015).

CALENDAR
Presentation meeting: 4 January
International call for entries: 8 January - 28 January
Judging: 29 January – 4 February
Announcement of winning posters: Saturday 6 February
Posting: Sunday 7/Monday 8 February

Info
www.posterfortomorrow.org
www.conversazionisulfuturo.it
www.amnesty.it
info@conversazionisulfuturo.it – 3394313397

«Conversazioni sul futuro» Press Office
SocietĂ  Cooperativa Coolclub
Piazza Giorgio Baglivi 10, Lecce
ufficiostampa@coolclub.it – 0832303707
Pierpaolo Lala - pierpaolo@coolclub.it – 3394313397

ufficiostampa@coolclub.it – 0832303707
Pierpaolo Lala - pierpaolo@coolclub.it – 3394313397