CAIRO: Egypt's ministry of health said Wednesday that 14 people were injured in Tahrir Square due to the large turnout of Tuesday's protests, where tens of thousands of people showed up to denounce the acquittals of top former ministry of interior officials in the killing of protesters during the January 2011 uprising that ousted the former regime. The ministry said 7 were treated on site while the rest were taken to a nearby hospital to received treatment. It added that the cases were mostly fainting, while two cases were injured by a sharp object. The mass protest came after former President Hosni Mubarak and his Minister of Interior Habib al-Adly received life in prison in the same case. Among those acquitted was former head of Cairo security Ismael al-Shaeer, who many families of those killed by police during the uprising says is personally responsible for killings. Egyptian police used massive and lethal force to suppress the mass protests that started on January 25, 2011, and opened fire randomly and repeatedly at protesters, killing at least 1,000. Many activists said the police deployed snipers on top of downtown buildings to kill protesters. Protesters also showed their refusal of presidential finalist Ahmed Shafiq, who according to the recently passed “Azl” law should be banned from participating in public life for 10 years. Shafiq is one of two candidates in the run-off on June 16 and 17, battling against the Muslim Brotherhood nominee Mohamed Morsi. Many activists called for boycotting the vote and called for the formation of a presidential council to rule the country instead of one of the two candidates. Presidential hopefuls moderate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotuh, leftist Hamdeen Sabahi and liberal Khaled Ali led large marched towards Tahrir Square promoting a council that will give them a chance at Egypt's top position. The Muslim Brotherhood, who is trying to win the liberals on its side for the run-off, but refused the notion of a presidential council, had a visible presence in the square throughout the night. The group is trying to win the liberal vote promoting Morsi as a moderate who will answer the demands of the revolution. However, many liberals and leftists said that in case the presidential council idea sinks, they will boycott the upcoming vote, refusing to support the Brotherhood. The activism community has accused the highly organized group of “hijacking” the revolution, after the group remained silent during the first days of the uprising. The group, who was prosecuted by the former regime, won about 45 percent of seats in the first post-uprising parliamentary elections, creating fears among Egyptians of the possibility of them holding both the lower house and the presidency.
