Egypt's 25th of January Revolution

[Azmat]

Did people get hurt? I don't have time to read all this can someone give me a quick summary of what happened?

[egypt69]

Originally Posted by Azmat

Did people get hurt? I don't have time to read all this can someone give me a quick summary of what happened?

I went to Tahrir at noon, realized the sit in had ended the night before, but I sat with the martyrs families and took some pics of the place. There werent many, the people there were mainly street sellers, and street kids and homeless people. There were several tents though, albeit, empty ones. So after establishing that there wasn't much left to do since all the political parties left last night, I left Tahrir at 2.

Apparently just MINUTES after I left, the military invaded the square, tearing down all the tents and kicking everyone out of the square in order to reopen traffic and the area. Some people fought back and things escalated from there, but no major injuries or fatalities. In the end, they cleared the square completely and now everything is back to normal there.

[Azmat]

How random, why today? They've been there for months...

[Azmat]

Doesn't look very violent...

[Montrealers]

Originally Posted by Azmat

Doesn't look very violent...

Wow, the police & army did a quiet good job afterall.

[Azmat]

Secular parties to form coalition against religious movements

Professor of Political Science Amr Hamzawy, in a conference of five political parties on Sunday, said secular political parties would form a coalition next week in order to face the religious parties during upcoming parliamentary elections.

“The calls for a religious state by Islamic groups during last Friday’s demonstration encouraged the liberal parties to take this step,” he said. “Voters will have to choose between a religious and a secular state.”

Hamzawy called for supra-constitutional principles so as to prevent the Islamists from forming a religious state should they win the elections. “The nature of the state should not be determined by any particular group,” he said.

Democratic Front Party President Osama al-Ghazaly Harb said liberalism does not contradict any of the Abrahamic religions. “Those who are against liberalism and freedom of thought will pull us into a dark cave,” he said. “Only a secular state can regulate the relationship between religion and governance.”

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/482422

[Montrealers]

Originally Posted by Azmat

Secular parties to form coalition against religious movements



http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/482422

That's what is needed.

[egypt69]

WHERE DO I SIGN UP

[UAE_isthebest]

Egypt military arrests BBC journalist

Egypt's military arrested a BBC journalist when it cleared out a central Cairo protest that left several protesters injured and dozens detained, officials with the British broadcaster said on Tuesday.

Shaimaa Khalil was detained on Monday after the military, backed by riot police, cleared the three-week sit-in in Tahrir Square, they said.

The BBC's foreign editor John Williams wrote on his Twitter account that the broadcaster was trying to secure her release.

"Very concerned at the detention of Shaimaa Khalil in Cairo -- a good journalist doing her job. Doing all we can to secure her release," he wrote.

Khalil had been posting updates on Twitter before her arrest.

""Careful!' someone just told me. 'They arrest anyone taking photos," she wrote.

Witnesses said soldiers and police beat demonstrators and broke mobile phones, targeting anyone taking pictures.

The legal rights group the Front for Defending Protester Detainees in Egypt said that more than 80 people were arrested.

The protesters in Tahrir had refused to end their sit-in after political factions withdrew for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started in Egypt on Tuesday.

Source

WTF! Why the hell would they do that?! Egyptian military will look like fools now worldwide.

[Montrealers]

Originally Posted by UAE_isthebest

WTF! Why the hell would they do that?! Egyptian military will look like fools now worldwide.

Our army ain't fools and secondly, she have been released

[egypt69]

Mubarak's Trial is tomorrow guys.

All eyes on Mubarak as he falls into court

Several months ago the idea of trying Hosni Mubarak in Egypt would have seemed absurd, but ‎now it could be happening

One show in Ramadan is set to steal the limelight from the holy month’s traditional fare of televised entertainment as the much-anticipated trial of ousted president Hosni Mubarak gets underway in a few hours. Speculation is rife amidst uncertainties that for the past months have surrounded the possibility of trying the 83-year-old.

Mubarak, who was deposed on 11 February in the wake of the 18-day uprising that sparked the January 25 revolution, should stand trial on 3 August along with both of his sons, Alaa and Gamal, as well as ex-minister of interior Habib El-Adly and six of the latter’s assistants.

Lecture hall number 1 at the Police Academy -- based in New Cairo on the outskirts of the capital – will host the opening session on Wednesday. The media will be allowed to cover the trial’s consecutive sessions from inside the courtroom. Only Egyptian State TV will be able to broadcast the trial. Authorities have announced that 600 people will be allowed into the courtroom, including lawyers of the defendants, family members of those injured or killed during the uprising and press.

The trial’s venue was changed as recently as Saturday. It had due to be held at the Cairo International Convention Centre but was moved to the Academy for security reasons, informed sources said.

Mubarak behind bars?

The defendants, who are accused of involvement in the killing of peaceful protesters during the January 25 revolution and face potential death sentences should they be found guilty, ought to appear behind bars, like El-Adly did while wearing the blue prison vest in a previous court session.

On Sunday, Egypt's Prosecutor-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud asked Minister of Interior Mansour El-Eissawi and the Ministry of Health to instigate the transfer of Mubarak from the International Sharm El-Sheikh Hospital to Cairo.

Yossri Abdel Razek, one of the lawyers representing the former commander-in-chief, confirmed that his client will be in court. According to media reports, however, Mubarak is likely to miss the opening session, with his “deteriorating health” likely to be cited as an excuse.

The past few months have seen many contradictory claims emerge over his health, not to mention rumours of his passing. He is said to be suffering from severe cancer and heart problems as well as chronic depression. Almost a week ahead of the trial, it was reported that Mubarak is refusing to eat or drink.

All of this has left an impression that Mubarak will not stand trial on Wednesday. “The law stipulates that if the defendant is unable to move because of illness, his trial will be put off,” legal expert Zakaria Abdel Aziz told Egyptian satellite channel OnTV. “He might attend the sessions while lying on a bed or sitting in a [wheel] chair, but if his transportation will jeopardise his life and his lawyers submit official documents that verify that, the trial has to be postponed. He cannot be sentenced in absentia and the judges cannot go to him. He must be present,” he explained.

It is understood that Mubarak, who has been held captive in hospital and not incarcerated in Tora Prison like the other defendants due to his reported health problems, will be transferred to the Police Academy by helicopter.

The Health Ministry stated that “there is an emergency plan in case anything unexpected happens.” An ambulance and a host of doctors will be stationed near the courtroom for his treatment if needed.

“It is the responsibility of the Health Ministry to take care of former President Hosni Mubarak’s health, since he resides in one of its hospitals in Sharm El-Sheikh,” Minister of Health Amr Helmi said. “The ministry is also responsible for his transportation and will provide doctors to escort him on his way to Cairo.”

Helmi also revealed that the latest medical reports state that Mubarak’s condition is fairly stable and will not prevent him from travelling to Cairo or attending the session.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has assigned 1100 policemen to secure the Police Academy.

Other military forces will also be deployed to protect the facility and secure the roads from which the defendants will arrive.

A reputable judge, 800 defence lawyers

Reputable judge Ahmed Fahmi Refaat has been commissioned to preside over the historical trial.

Refaat, who has previously overseen a number of political cases, has never been perceived as one of the judges who tends to favour the former regime, having sentenced ex-parliamentarian and NDP member Tarek El-Sowesi to 15 years in prison for being involved in a notorious relics smuggling racket. He also returned other verdicts seemingly without considering the best interest of Mubarak’s government.

The ousted president, however, will not be without strong representation. According to his defence team’s official Facebook page, 800 lawyers volunteered to defend Mubarak. Only 50 of them will appear in the court, with Farid El-Deeb leading the team. The rest of the lawyers will be standing outside the hall wearing their robes and forming a human shield along with the disciples of the once untouchable.

An appeal was lodged to prevent Mubarak being tried in a criminal court. One of Mubarak’s lawyers, Abdel Razek, said: “Once the Egyptian people will see him they will refuse the prosecution of their president, who is deemed one of the country’s figures.”

Alaa Abdel Nabi, an engineering student and Mubarak devotee who acts as an administrator for the Facebook page The Union of Mr. President Mohamed Hosni ‎Mubarak’s Fans, is planning to go to the Police Academy on Wednesday. He told Ahram Online that “there is news that he won’t come but we will be at the Police Academy just in case. We will stress our refusal of his trial.

“The supporters of Mubarak will form a line behind the lawyers [who will be forming a human shield] … We are throwing ourselves forward with all our weight on that day, we are expecting around 30,000 to come for the ex-president.”

The families of the martyrs and many anti-Mubarak people and political forces are widely expected to be present outside the hall as well.

The attendees will be allowed to get in from gate 8 while the Ministry of Interior has allocated 20 microbuses to transport them. Private vehicles are strictly prohibited.

Trying and convicting Mubarak has been one of the most prioritized as yet unmet demands of the uprising, with many of the martyrs' families holding him culpable for the loss of their sons, daughters and siblings.

The “unattained retribution” primarily urged many political forces and protesters to start a new sit-in in Tahrir Square on 8 July in order to pile pressure on the authorities to take firmer action against Mubarak, who is also accused of illicit profiteering, and fulfill the other demands too.

Only two days ahead of Mubarak’s trial, on the first of Ramadan, military police and central security forces forcibly dispersed what was left of the demonstrators, after the majority of the protesters suspended the sit-in until further notice.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCont...nto-court.aspx

Mubarak trial may scare Arab rulers, placate Egyptians

(Reuters) - Egypt's fallen leader, Hosni Mubarak, goes on trial Wednesday over his role in killing protesters, in a stark message to Arab rulers elsewhere that they too may one day be held to account.

In domestic politics, putting the former president in the dock may help quell criticism of the generals now running Egypt, suspected by protesters of protecting their former commander.

Egyptians camped out in Cairo for more than three weeks in July demanded faster reforms by the army council, in power since Mubarak was ousted on February 11, including swifter trials of Mubarak and his aides over corruption and protester deaths.

Many suspect the military of foot-dragging over Mubarak, in hospital since April in Sharm el-Sheikh, a Red Sea resort.

"The army has interests with the old regime. They are not doing anything for the people. They worked with Mubarak. They will not harm him, I swear," Safa Mohamed, 41, said in Suez, scene of some of the worst violence in the 18-day uprising.

If convicted, Mubarak could face the death penalty. But few expect that outcome, even if some protesters want it.

Many Egyptians will be pleased just to see him in court and in the cage where defendants in Egyptian criminal trials stand. One has been erected in the Police Academy in Cairo which was named after Mubarak. His name has now been stripped off.

A source close to Mubarak said last week that his lawyer would tell the judge that his client was too ill to attend. But the health minister said Tuesday he could be moved.

Protesters are likely be enraged if he does not come.

"The trial of Mubarak is a lesson to candidates for the presidency to know the fate of those who try to violate the freedom of the people or become autocratic," said senior Muslim Brotherhood member Essam el-Erian.

He was speaking to the state-run daily Al-Ahram, a newspaper that would never have run a statement from the group while Mubarak was in power and the Brotherhood was banned. The group has now emerged as one of several influential political forces.

CONCESSIONS

The trial will have a wider impact in the region too.

"It is also a warning message to all Arab rulers who use the same methods as Mubarak that they have to guard against a popular uprising, because if it succeeds then they are going to face the same fate," said political analyst Mustapha al-Sayyed.

The message may have already reached Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, who have shown no sign of quitting. Nor have they offered concessions akin to those Mubarak offered in vain in his final days in office when he named a vice president and pledged not to seek another term.

Gulf Arab states may also have been watching Egypt closely. An army source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia and others were quietly pressing the army to spare Mubarak, a former ally. His trial sets an uncomfortable precedent for Arab autocrats.

But in an interview with Egyptian television, the Saudi ambassador to Cairo denied any such intervention, saying that Riyadh's links with Mubarak had ended the day he stepped down and that his trial was a matter for Egyptians.

Mubarak is not first Arab leader to be tried since the start of this year's 'Arab Spring'. Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was tried and sentenced in absentia because he fled to Saudi Arabia. Mubarak stayed in Egypt, swearing to die there.

Mubarak is standing trial alongside his two sons, Gamal, a former banker once seen as being groomed for top office, and Alaa, who had business interests. Also on trial will be former Interior Minister Habib al-Adli and six of his deputies.

Another defendant, business executive and Mubarak confidant Hussein Salem, was detained in Spain.

Charges range from conspiring over the killing of demonstrators to abuse of power to amass wealth.

The court was originally planned to be set up in an exhibition and convention center near central Cairo, but was later moved to the Police Academy on Cairo's outskirts.

It is the same complex where Mubarak delivered a speech on January 23, just two days before protests erupted. Much of his address discussed the bombing of a church at the start of 2011.

"I and all Egyptians salute policemen on their day of celebration and affirm our pride in their role and sacrifice. We tell them: we appreciate all your efforts to fight crime in all its forms and your handling of security in our society," he said then.

On January 25, protesters took to the streets. Cairo and other cities soon became battle zones between demonstrators and police who used gunfire, rubber bullets, water cannon and batons.

After several days of violence, when buildings were torched and cars wrecked, police were withdrawn and the army moved in to take control. Soldiers were met with cheers from the crowd.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...77126J20110802

[egypt69]

Mubarak to face three separate charges and possible death sentence

According to his criminal court summons, deposed president Hosni Mubarak is to face three separate charges during his trial, which is set to start on Wednesday.

He stands accused of killing demonstrators during the uprising that forced him from power, profiteering by abusing his position of power, and exporting gas to Israel for prices lower than international market rates.

If Mubarak is convicted, he will face sentences ranging from five years imprisonment to the death penalty.

His sons Alaa and Gamal are only charged with profiteering by abusing their father’s power, charges that carry potential sentences of between five and 15 years in prison.

Fugitive business tycoon Hussein Salem is charged with giving the other defendants presents in return for certain favors, which the law also punishes by five to 15 years in prison.

Former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and his aides are charged with killing demonstrators during the revolution, which the law punishes by 15 years in prison or the death penalty.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/nodae/482662

Final preparations made for transfer of Mubarak to court

The Health Ministry has provided a team of doctors to accompany deposed President Hosni Mubarak as he is flown by helicopter from Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital to the Police Academy in Cairo, where he will undergo the first session of his trial on Wednesday.

Medical sources said Mubarak’s health condition is stable but his psychological status is deteriorating.

Security forces will cordon off the academy and the roads leading to it as of 5 am on Wednesday, allowing only the plaintiffs, the defense teams and the media to pass. They will place metal detectors and trained police dogs at the entrances to the academy.

Sources said such security measures are necessary to protect the defendants, who will arrive at 7 am, from possible assaults.

They also said that the armed forces will be responsible for securing the academy from outside while the police will secure it from the inside.

They added that Mubarak’s sons, former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly and four of his aides will be moved from Tora Prison to the courtroom in a convoy of three bulletproof vehicles followed by two police cars and two motorcycles. Thirty-five police personnel will be present.

Security sources warned of clashes between the public and Mubarak’s supporters outside the courtroom. The defense team is expected to request that the trial be postponed in order to study more than 9000 pages of case documents, while Mubarak’s lawyer Farid al-Deeb is expected to request that his client be exempted from attending the proceedings due to his deteriorating health condition.

Security sources said the army is deploying extra troops to secure the Suez Canal in anticipation of possible terrorist attacks during the trial.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/482669

[egypt69]

[xAbd0o]

the Ministry of Interior has assigned 1100 policemen to secure the Police Academy.

800 lawyers volunteered to defend Mubarak. Only 50 of them will appear in the court

leih kol dah? I thought he was suppose to be treated like anyone else.

Alaa Abdel Nabi, an engineering student and Mubarak devotee who acts as an administrator for the Facebook page The Union of Mr. President Mohamed Hosni ‎Mubarak’s Fans, is planning to go to the Police Academy on Wednesday. He told Ahram Online that “there is news that he won’t come but we will be at the Police Academy just in case. We will stress our refusal of his trial.

this guy is living in a different dimotion he must be BTW 2mot wa3raf kam wa7ed 3amal like lesaf7a ana bafakar 23mel like 3shan bas myet7ergosh

[Montrealers]

Knowing how many time they tried to kill him... I fear someone would try to kill him...Guys don't forget Islamists failed 7 time to assassinate him!

[egypt69]

Originally Posted by xAbd0o

leih kol dah? I thought he was suppose to be treated like anyone else.

Well he's a high profile suspect, and a very possible target of an attack, in the end, he has the right to security. The same would be done to any Egyptian suspect whose safety is threatened.

And as for the 800 lawyers, they are not provided by the government of course, he hired them all himself, anyone in Egypt can hire as many lawyers as they want if they have the money!

[Montrealers]

OMGGGGGGGG .... Mubarak 3ala wa2t el so7or... eh sad el nafs da

I am soo excited and worried bout the first moment of the apparition of Hosny Mubarak!!!

[egypt69]

THE TRIAL IS LIVE ON STATE TV

Watch a live stream online in Arabic: http://www.nilesports.tv/egypt-tv-1.htm or http://mubasher-misr.aljazeera.net/

Watch a live stream in English here, via AL Jazeera English : http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

He is supposed to have arrived in Cairo from a while ago, they showed the plane landing near the courtroom, he is yet to appear visually on TV though and in the courtroom.

Also I'm pretty sure CNN has coverage of the trial.



People watching it on a TV on the streets of Downtown Cairo:





Mubarak supporters and Anti-Mubarak clashed outside the courtroom:

[Montrealers]

7ay2at el qada2 is about to enter

[Montrealers]

Hosny Mubarak is about to enter... El 3adly gamal w kolohom 3ala entebah el dokhol!!!!!!!!!!!!! Khalas dakhalo kollohom