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EGYPTIAN CRISIS

Protesters demand mubarak to face trial in court

Thousands of people have rallied in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to call for ousted president Hosni Mubarak and members of his former administration to face justice. The demonstration, dubbed "Friday for the rescue of the revolution," was organised by the Youth Revolution Coalition, a group founded by the young activists who started the January 25 protests that led to the end of Mubarak's rule. The protest on Friday called for remaining members of Mubarak's government to be put on trial, namely Fathi Serour, the former parliament speaker, Zakariya Azmi, head of the presidential palace, and Safwat al-Sherif, the former secretary-general of the ruling party. 'Difficult challenge' Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna, reporting from the midst of the rally in Tahrir square, said the protest was a strong message to the supreme armed forces from demonstrators. "They say that the aim of the revolution has not yet been completed," our correspondent said. "There is so much that still needs to be done. The primary call from the crowd at this stage is for action to be taken against those from the previous regime. In particular, Hosni Mubarak himself, as well as those allied with him." Since Mubarak has a military background, the willingness of the military to put a former soldier on trial is seen by some Egyptians as a test of its commitment to change. "For the military rulers to take actions against somebody they supported and backed in the past is a very difficult challenge and a major test of whether this military council, in this post-revolutionary period leading to the handover back to civilian rule, is going to listen to the people and to what extent it's prepared to do so," said Hanna. Protesters included members of the National Assembly for Change, which comprises representatives of the opposition forces in Egypt whose primary objective is to bring about constitutional amendments and the achievement of social justice in the country. "We want to put on trial those officials and confiscate their money, remove the National Democratic Party, and stop exporting gas to Israel," said one of its members, Mohamed Al-Khodier.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies