Egypt witnessed a rise in protests in November, most significantly after a court verdict that acquitted former president Hosni Mubarak, a Democracy Index report said. The Cairo-based research project, issued by International Development Center, said Tuesday there have been 714 protests nationwide in November, of which most were student-led. A Cairo court dropped charges on 29 November against Mubarak over complicity in killing protesters during the January 2011 uprising. The verdict sparked anger among hundreds of protesters taking to Tahrir Square, where thousands had demonstrated to bring the autocrat down in 2011. Students nationwide also staged demonstrations on university campuses following the verdict. Meanwhile, other students have protested throughout the month against the government – mainly against the detainment of their colleagues. The Democracy Index said students staged 226 protests in November. In addition to the controversial verdict, the report said calls for Islamist protests on 28 November also contributed to the increase which it put at 10 percent more than October which had witnessed 643 demonstrations. Most protests, almost 65 percent had political and civil rights demands, according to the report. Most protests in November were staged on Fridays, the report said. Cairo and Giza [usually seen together as "Greater Cairo"] had the largest share with 250 protests, followed by Alexandria with 87 protests. Nile Delta governorates Sharqiya and Kafr El-Sheikh ranked next with 52 and 43 respectively. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/118115.aspx
