CAIRO - The grief-stricken mother of the young Alexandrian Khaled Saeed, who was brutally killed by undercover police, said that she heaved a deep sigh of relief when she learnt that the former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted after 30 years in office. Haja Leila Marzouq also expressed her delight at such incredible news by ululating and her neighbours joyfully reciprocated. “My son is now resting in peace in his grave,” declared Haja Leila as she received the news of Mubarak's departure. She told the press that, a day after the outbreak of the January 25th Revolution, she held a big party to celebrate her late son's birthday. The family also organised a symbolic wedding party for him when the revolutionary young people celebrated the fall of Mubarak's regime. Khaled Saeed, 26, was a friend of the Facebook colleagues, who instigated the January 25th Revolution. He had downloaded video clips picturing corrupt police officers as they were making deals with drug dealers. Saeed was also said to be behind grim clips depicting citizens being abused and tortured in police stations. He was arrested by two undercover police when he was in an Internet café. Eyewitnesses said that Saeed was dragged into the street and was beaten brutally and his head was dashed violently against the pavement until he collapsed. His Facebook friends and also his neighbours took to the street to protest when the police claimed that Saeed was a drug dealer and he suffocated when a lump of bango (a cheap drug) stuck in his throat. Filled with mixed feelings and memories of her late son, Haja Leila struggled to collect herself when she was asked how she received the news of Mubarak's departure. “I jumped in the air with joy that a nightmare was over,” the mother said. She accused Mubarak of being personally responsible for her boy's death. She declared that she would soon leave off the black dress she had been wearing since her son's death in June last year. Indicating that former President Mubarak was a potentate, who suppressed his people and had killed young people in Al Tahrir Square, Haja Leila told Al-Masry Al-Youm Arabic newspaper: “Egypt is celebrating the air of freedom again. The day in which the Revolution achieved its ultimate goal [the departure of Mubarak], I organised a wedding party for my son, because he was planning to marry and was killed before fulfilling his dream.” She conveyed her heartfelt thanks to Wael Ghoneim and his friends, who collaborated to launch the Kullina Khaled Saeed (We are all Khaled Saeed) website to pay homage to their late friend and deliberate over the role of the brutal policemen in his tragic death. The killing of Khaled Saeed is widely regarded as the first bullet shot at the heart of the regime. Haja Leila was invited to the Tahrir Square to address his camping friends. She took a ramshackle podium in the place and gave an emotionally loaded speech, which was rewarded by strong chants calling for the outbreak of a new dawn in Egypt without Mubarak or any of his cronies. In her interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, the delighted mother called upon Mubarak and his family members to give up the money they had seized from the Egyptian people. She also disclosed that she would pursue legal proceedings against the two undercover policemen, who are accused of murdering her son. “I will not let them escape with their crime,” she vowed. “They deserve a just trial. I am confident that our justice system is fair and impartial.”
