Thousands of Egyptians were Friday flocking to Tahrir Square in central Cairo for a mass protest aimed at pressuring the country's military rulers into expediting the prosecution of former regime officials, DPA reported.
"No more patience. The Mubarak regime is still in charge," Gehad al-Timsah, a teacher and activist, said on the private ONTV channel late Thursday.
Protesters are disappointed at what they say the slow pace of bringing former president Hosny Mubarak, ousted in a popular revolt earlier this year, and tainted officials to justice.
Various political powers, including the influential Muslim Brotherhood, have said they will participate in the protest dubbed the "Friday of Purge and Retribution."
Police were absent from Tahrir Square early Friday as army troops and tanks were seen on guard around nearby state institutions including the buildings of the parliament and the cabinet.
On the eve of the protest, Egyptian authorities referred 25 former politicians, including two close aides to Mubarak, to the criminal court on charges of involvement in an attack on protesters during the uprising in February.