Hundreds of Egyptians Friday gathered in Cairo to protest what they say is the slow pace of trials for former officials charged with ordering deadly crackdowns during the protests that toppled the regime of Hosny Mubarak earlier this year, DPA reported.
The protest, dubbed "Friday of Retribution for Martyrs," came three days after bloody clashes in central Cairo between police and demonstrators that left hundreds injured.
"We are on a sit-in until the (Mubarak) regime is tried," chanted protesters following Friday prayers in Al Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the anti-Mubarak uprising in January and February.
They also demanded the sacking of incumbent Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawi over Tuesday's clashes, for which opposition and human rights groups have accused police of using excessive force.
Army troops and police stayed away from the square Friday, apparently to avoid angering the protesters. "The people want the mass murderer to be put to death," read a banner, apparently referring to Habib al-Adli, Mubarak's interior minister. The recent postponement of al-Adli's trial enraged relatives of the people killed during the anti-Mubarak uprising.
At least 846 Egyptians were killed and 6,000 injured during the revolution, according to a fact-finding committee. Their families complain that they receive little attention from the government.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has ordered the creation of a fund to provide social and health care to these families, official TV reported early Friday.
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