Cairo square protesters seek officials to be tried

PRO-DEMOCRACY activists have pitched their tents once again in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to push for political reforms and to demand that officials found guilty of abuse be brought to justice.

After violent clashes in central Cairo that left over 1,000 people injured, dozens of activists spent a calm night in the square which was the epicentre of protests that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February.

“We will stay in the square until guilty police officers are tried,” Mossaad Shahrur said.

“We want real, open trials of corrupt police and officials, including Mubarak,” said Mohammed Abdel Awi.

Activists are also calling for the trial of former interior minister Habib al-Adly, who is being investigated for ordering the killing of protesters during the January 25 uprising.

Adly has been sentenced to 12 years on corruption charges.

In the Mediterranean city, Alexandria, the issuing of a verdict in a high profile police brutality case was postponed until September 24.

A large security presence had been deployed outside the courthouse where dozens of activists had gathered to hear the ruling in the trial of two police officers accused of beating to death 28-year-old Khaled Said last year, in a case that sparked public outcry and was a driving force behind the January revolt.

Clashes had erupted in Cairo on Tuesday evening between protesters and anti-riot police, amid conflicting reports of what exactly sparked the trouble.

The interior ministry blamed families of the victims killed in the uprising, saying that some of them stormed a theatre where a memorial service was being held for those who died, which led to clashes with security.

Some activists said police beat the families who had been barred from joining the service, and accused loyalists of the ousted leader of stirring up trouble and instigating clashes.

After the theatre incident, protesters headed to Tahrir Square and were fired at with heavy tear gas. Some broke pavement blocks to throw stones at the police.

Violent clashes also erupted outside the interior ministry building just blocks from Tahrir Square, where the army had to step in to restore calm.

The clashes signalled the mounting frustration with the military rulers over the pace of reform, with activists calling for an open-ended sit-in in Tahrir until the goals of the revolution are met.