Egyptians hold massive rally in Cairo

Egyptians hold Palestinian flags at a rally in Cairo on May 13, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/180868.html

Thousands of Egyptians have gathered in the main square in the capital, Cairo, urging the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak and his associates.

The demonstrators gathered in the landmark Liberation Square in central Cairo following the Friday Prayers.

The gathering dubbed 'Saving the Revolution' followed reports suggesting that Mubarak would be pardoned. Egyptians are opposed to granting amnesty to Mubarak as they say he ordered the killing of scores of protesters.

"We want our rights back' and 'We don't feel the change," the protesters chanted.

They want Mubarak and his government officials to stand trial for the crimes they have committed.

The protesters also denounced the release of Mubarak's ousted chief of staff Zakaria Azmi and his wife Suzanne Thabet. Mubarak and his wife face charges, which include corruption.

Egypt's judicial sources say Mubarak could face the death penalty if found guilty of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters during the revolution. At least 846 people were killed during the uprising that led to Mubarak's eventual fall.

The demonstrators also called for the release of all those who were detained outside the Israeli embassy earlier this week. About 200 people were arrested during a protest on the Day of Nakba (Catastrophe) which marks the occupation of Palestine by Israelis.

Protesters called for an end to Israel's 63-year occupation of Palestinian lands, which began on May 15, 1948.

Under the US-backed Mubarak regime, Egypt consistently served Tel Aviv's interests in the region by helping to impose a crippling blockade on the impoverished Strip after the democratically-elected Hamas government took control of the territory in 2007.

Egyptians have frequently called on their military rulers to abandon Israel and lift the blockade on the besieged Gaza Strip.