IN GOOD COMPANY

It’s the title of one of Scarlett Johansson’s many movies, but I’d say it’s a great caption for this image too.

Natalie Portman is indeed a good company to share a coffee with.

With her Scarlett also shared the sisterhood on the set of the film in which they played Anna and Maria Bolena which unfortunately I have not yet seen. You?

On the other hand, I have seen many others, starting with The Horse Whisperer, although she had already worked in other films: in fact she started very young and her career was a varied crescendo of characters and genres in which she always ranged with success.

In recent days, however, I was struck by her image rigorously without superstructures, as if to underline even more the accuracy of the appeal for the release of four people detained in Egypt, among whom we know in particular the case of Patrick Zaki. 

Before being arrested during a visit to his family, Patrick Zaki attended the University of Bologna which in recent months has undertaken many initiatives in his favor, also by the rector himself who mentioned him in the opening address of the University.

But it is Scarlett’s words that hit the mark: “Speaking out loud has become dangerous today in Egypt” and for me they sound particularly terrible even in the light of what happened to Giulio Regeni.

After this message three people were released, but not Patrick Zaki, even if surprisingly, today there will be the hearing that after the renewal of the pre-trial detention was scheduled for January.

We therefore join the hopes that Zaki will soon find himself in good company.

And above all, we all continue to defend a fundamental and very important value: freedom of thought and speech.

I had already mentioned Evelyn Beatrice Hall: 

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

And since I recently talked about George Orwell I would also mention

If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.