January 25, 2012: Demonstrators gather in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt’s uprising on January 25, 2011. A year after social-media-savvy activists took to the streets, 83-year-old President Hosni Mubarak is on trial, and a new parliament has been installed. However, with military tribunals slow to relinquish temporary ruling power, demonstrators’ feelings of hope and celebration are mixed with disenchantment and frustration.
Photo: Mohamed Abd El-Ghany/Reuters
Defacing the Old Face
On January 25, 2011, thousands of Egyptians clashed with police in the country’s streets and squares, demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule. The unprecedented protests were inspired by the revolt that brought down Tunisia’s president. The “Day of Rage” pushed the country toward its tipping point. The streets swarmed with Egyptian anger over growing poverty, unemployment, government corruption, and the rule of president Hosni Mubarak.
Photo: Stringer/Reuter
Bleeding to Be Free
January 28, 2011: Police and demonstrators fought running battles on the streets of Cairo in a fourth day of mass protests. Though troops were ordered into the streets, they did not interfere in the confrontations between police and protesters. Eleven civilians were killed in Suez and 170 were injured. No deaths were reported in Cairo. At least 1,030 people were injured countrywide.
Photo: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
Day of Departure’s Friday Prayers
February 4, 2011: Tens of thousands of Egyptians prayed in Cairo’s Tahrir (Liberation) Square for an immediate end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule, hoping a million more would join in the “Day of Departure.” The United Nations estimated 300 people may have been killed across the country as Mubarak clung to power.
Photo: Amr Dalsh/Reuters
Mubarak Is Tanked
February 11, 2011: Mubarek steps down and Egyptians wake to a new dawn. After 30 years of autocratic rule under Hosni Mubarak, protesters are full of hope, having achieved almost unthinkable change, with the army in charge and an uncertain future ahead.
Caged Dictator
August 3, 2011: Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak is wheeled into a cage for his trial at the Police Academy in Cairo. Along with his two sons, Mubarak is standing trial for his role in the killing of protesters. State television reports that Mubarak denies charges of killing protesters and abuse of power.
Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Protesting Military Council Intrusions
Women chant anti-military council slogans as they protest military council violations and virginity tests, and in support of Samira Ibrahim, outside the State Council court in Cairo, December 27, 2011. An Egyptian court ordered that forced virginity tests be stopped on female detainees in military prisons. The case was filed by Samira Ibrahim, a woman who said the army forced her to undergo a virginity test in March after she was arrested during a protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. The banner reads, “Want the rights of my sister.”
Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Demonstrations and celebrations mark the 2011 uprising
January 25, 2012: In elections after the 2011 uprising, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) of the Muslim Brotherhood won the largest number of seats in parliament. Presidential elections are set to be held before June 2012. No one has yet been judged guilty of the deaths of 850 people during the uprising. The trial of Mubarak, his interior minister, and others officials continues, and the military tribunal still clings to power.
