Thousands of Egyptians Saturday went on an open strike in Cairo and other big cities, threatening escalation if the country’s military rulers did not expedite the prosecution of former government officials.
‘We give the country’s rulers until Sunday night to declare public, real and swift trials for the officials of the toppled regime and the killers of martyrs,’ the protest group the Second Revolution of Rage said on its Facebook page.
‘If not, there will be escalatory measures, including a call for civil disobedience,’ it added.
The protesters are disappointed at what they say is the slow pace of bringing former president Hosny Mubarak, toppled in a popular uprising in February, and other officials to justice.
On Friday Egypt saw mass protests nationwide demanding that former officials, believed to be involved in a deadly crackdown on demonstrators during the anti-Mubarak revolt, be tried quickly and in public.
The protesters are also pushing for state institutions, mainly the police, to be purged of those deemed loyal to Mubarak.
At least 846 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured in the uprising, according to a fact-finding commission.