Calls For Protests in Egypt’s Tahrir Sq. Today

Several political groups in Egypt have called on the people to attend mass demonstrations on Tuesday to protest against the life sentence issued for Hosni Mubarak in his trial and demand a tougher punishment.

The April 6 Youth Movement, the Coalition of Revolution Youth and the Maspero Youth Union, among others, called on Monday for a million-man march at 1500 GMT on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The Muslim Brotherhood also said it would participate in the demonstrations across the country on Tuesday to call for a retrial of those acquitted of being involved in the killing of the protesters in 2011. 

Abdel Moneim Abou Al Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabbahi, the presidential candidates who lost the first round of the presidential election last month, said in statements that they will lead separate demonstrations to Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square. 

Many Egyptians are outraged that the court has spared the lives of ousted dictator Mubarak and his interior minister, Habib al-Adli, who were involved in the killing of nearly 900 protesters during the revolution. Six police chiefs were also acquitted of wrongdoing in their trials.

The verdict sparked fierce clashes between the families of the victims and security officials inside the court while angry spectators called the court illegitimate and demanded that Mubarak be executed. 

Meanwhile, at a press conference in Cairo on Saturday, Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi urged Egyptians to continue the revolution. 

“All of us, my brothers, must realize in this period that the continuation of the revolution, and the revolutionaries’ staying put in their positions in the squares, is the only guarantee to achieve the goals,” he stated.