Egyptians rally to support prisoners
Press TV – November 8, 2011
Thousands of Egyptians have staged a rally in the capital Cairo in solidarity with more than 12,000 civilians tried and held by the ruling military council, Press TV reports.
The issue of military trials for civilians and their detention has become a source of friction between the Egyptian protesters and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which assumed power after the February downfall of the regime of former dictator Hosni Mubarak.
The protesters said SCAF’s judicial system is harsh and unjust.
The demonstrators said the populace needed to ‘reclaim’ the revolution, which toppled the former US-backed and pro-Israel regime.
The protesters gathered in downtown Cairo, and, chanting ‘Down with military rule’ and “Take one of us, you’ll get a hundred,” went towards the military prison, where the activist Alaa Abdel Fattah is also being held.
Abdel Fattah and fellow human rights campaigner Bahaa Saber were called in for questioning on October 30. Saber was released after interrogation.
Alaa’s mother has reportedly gone on a hunger strike since Sunday to protest against her son’s detention.
For months now, ‘No to Military Trials’ group has been inviting the family members of those detained and convicted by the military to speak out. The group contends that the point of military trials is not to observe law and order, but to create a climate of fear.
Egyptian protesters have been rallying since the ouster of Mubarak, calling on the military council to hand over power to a civilian government.
Upon taking power, the SCAF promised it would enable power transition to a civilian government in six months.
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