October Timeline
4 October, Tuesday
Image of some of the columns left blank Oct. 4 in protest over the assignment of a military censor with authority over the press.
SCAF appoints military censor over Egyptian press. Several prominent columnists left their columns empty as an act of protest at the move.
Recognizing that the new Egypt was not going to have a compliant dictator and that the Muslim Brotherhood will certainly play some major role in Egypt’s political future, Prem Kumar, the Director of the Egypt section at the US National Security, and Amy Sia Catherine, the First Secretary of the U.S. embassy in Cairo, visited the headquarters of the Freedom and Justice Party and met with Dr. Sa’d al-Katatni, the party’s Secretary General.
5 October, Wednesday
Field Marshall Tantawi held a press conference to reassured everyone: “There is no candidate of the military establishment in the presidential elections.”
Hundreds of protesters, including members of the April 6 Youth Movement and the Democratic Front Party, and Ahly Club Ultras, staged a march from Sayyeda Aisha Square to Tahrir Square demanding a swift handover to civilian rule, as called for by various political parties and movements. The “Second Friday of Anger” and “Rise Up Egypt, the Egyptian Is Hungry” fan pages on Facebook had called for the march to demand a quick handover of power to an elected civilian government and president.
6 October, Thursday
Cairo International Airport workers staged a five hour strike late Wednesday night but ended it early this morning when an agreement was brokered between workers and the Airport administration by The Minister of Civil Aviation, Lotfy Mostafa Kamal.
7 October, Friday
“The Second Friday of Anger”, also called “Go Back to Your Barracks” protest began in Tahrir Square after prayers. Protesters decried the ruling military council’s renewal and expansion of the Emergency Law, pressure on free media and the trial of civilians in military courts.
9 October, Sunday
Joined by some Muslim sympathizers, thousands of Coptic Christians gathered in Shubra in the afternoon and marched to the state television and radio building, to protest the burning of a church in the Upper Egyptian village of al-Marinab. Security forces deployed tear gas, live bullets and armored vehicles in an effort to disperse peaceful protesters in downtown Cairo. Protesters responded with stones and Molotov cocktails. 23 Copts and 2 soldiers were killed, and over 300 protesters were injured, some critically.
During the protests, state television erroneously reported that Christian protesters had tried to storm the television building, and that they violently attacked soldiers, causing numerous injuries and deaths.
10 October, Monday
Coptic Christians and Muslims gathered at the largest Cathedral to mourn the deaths of the protesters killed in Sunday’s clashes.
Many accuse state TV of having encouraged the violence on Oct. 9 by urging Muslims to protect the security forces against the violent Coptic Christians.
11 October, Tuesday
The deputy prime minister and finance minister Hazem El-Beblawi resigned in protest of the violent clashes on Sunday, but his resignation was rejected by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.
12 October, Wednesday
SCAF Generals defended the military’s actions during Sunday’s clashes at a press conference. They denied charges that soldiers ran over protesters with military vehicles or used live ammunition. The military ruling council pledged to hunt down those behind the violence and spoke of “foreign elements.” To back up their claims, they show edited footage intended to incriminate Coptic protesters, provoking the military to act in self-defense. Unconvincing footage of military vehicles swerving around protesters was substituted for the widely circulated videos of protesters being run over by armored vehicles
Several private networks offered contradicting evidence of the events of Oct. 9th, including Al-Tahrir television. Voice of America issued a scathing indightment of Egyptian state media’s handling of the “news.”
Employees of Egypt Telecom took CEO Mohamed Abdel Rehim captive for failing to meet their demands. Workers were demanding an open accounting of the state company’s budget sheets and higher salaries.
After an investigation, the Israeli government issued an apology over the deaths of Egyptian police forces on the Egypt-Israeli border in August.
13 October, Thursday
Candidates for Parliament declared their candidacies in several governorates in accordance with the timetable for elections. Observers reported that turnout by Muslim Brotherhood and former NDP members was high, while turnout by Christians and women was low. Some rights groups claimed members of the disbanded state security showed up in plain clothes and questioned potential candidates at some sites.
Accusing Minister of Information Osama Heikal of having “primary responsibility” for “prejudiced” media that “incited sectarian violence against peaceful demonstrators,”more than 100 protesters marched from the government-owned Al-Akhbar newspaper to the Maspero Building demanding his resignation. The group then marched to Talat Harb street, where they held a candlelight vigil for the Oct. 9 victims. The protest was organized by the group No to Military Censorship, whose leaders include journalists Olfat Abd Rabo and Hala Fahmy. The group called for a mass protest Oct. 28.
Egyptian security forces free Egyptian Telecom CEO Mohamed Abdel Rehim.
14 October, Friday
Hundreds of protesters carrying Egyptian flags, the Qur’an and crosses staged a “national unity” march from Al-Azhar Mosque to the Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya after Friday prayers. Another march coming from Tahrir Square joined the protesters in front of the cathedral. A smaller group of counterprotesters chanting pro-military slogans threw stones at the protesters, chasing some stragglers into the nearby Al-Husseini hospital.
16 October, Sunday
Pope Shenouda III demanded the release of detained protesters, and met with SCAF to discuss an investigation into the peaceful protests on the ninth that turned violent.
Mohamed ElBaradei called on SCAF to transfer the investigations of the violence on Oct. 9 to a civilian court to allow for a credible investigation.
SCAF outlaws discrimination among Egyptian people (by issuing a decree ratifying an amendment to the penal code).
25 October, Tuesday
An administrative court ruled that Egyptians abroad had the right to vote in the Egyptian Embassies and Consulates.
26 October, Wednesday
Khaled Said’s murderers are sentenced to 7 years in jail. The light sentences caused outrage among many Egyptians.
27 October, Thursday
25 Egyptians were released from Israeli custody in exchange for an Israeli officer held by Palestinians.
30 October, Sunday
Blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah was accused of inciting violence and other offenses during the 9 Oct. clashes that killed 27 people. He was taken into military custody.
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