September Timeline
5 September, Monday
The Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions issued a statement calling on people to support the continuing and forthcoming strikes by workers in all sectors of the economy.
The third session of the Mubarak trial began, in which General Moussa, Major Emad Badry, Captain Basem Hassen and Mahmoud Galal Hamid were all called as witnesses against Habib al-Adly. General Moussa testified that General Admed Ramzy provided the security forces guarding the Ministry of the Interior with automatic weapons; however, he was unsure if al-Adly knew. Major Badry claims that General Ramzy told police officers to treat the protesters as brother and sisters, while Captain Hassen, a police officer in the Operations Department in the Central Security Forces, claimed that orders were to shoot at people’s legs and in the air. Mahmoud Galal Hamid stated that he didn’t know if snipers were targeting the protesters or not. The prosecutor demanded to see the minutes of the meetings attended by Hussein Tantawi, the former defense minister, Omar Suleiman, former intelligence chief, al-Adly and Ahmed Nazif, the former Prime Minister, between the 20th and 22nd of January where it was decided what to do about the protesters.
Mubarak supporters and families of the martyrs clashed outside the courtroom and twelve people were injured.
6 September, Tuesday
Police violently dispersed fans of the country’s largest football team, Ahly, at the end of an otherwise uneventful Egypt cup game, when fans began chanting anti-Mubarak slogans. The police chased hundreds of team supporters through the streets surrounding the stadium for several hours.
7 September, Wednesday
The ruling military council met with Prime Minister Sharaf for several hours to discuss “the deteriorating security situation” and issued six directives for the government to follow immediately:
- The government will use all legal means to prosecute what the council described as all and any acts of thuggery.
- The government will support all police efforts to maintain peace.
- The government will intervene to halt all strike actions, and it will enforce a law it passed last spring, which criminalized certain strikes that disrupt public life.
- The government will not negotiate with strikers over any demands until workers halt their workplace actions.
- The government will suspend issuing new licenses to Satellite television stations.
- The government will start legal procedures to review licenses it issued to any Satellite television network that incites violence and protests.
8 September, Thursday
Session five of Mubarak’s trial called Police Commander Essam Shawky and General Hameed to testify. Shawky stated that al-Adly ordered the killing of protesters and the internet and phone services cut. General Hameed attended the meeting at the Ministry of the Interior with al-Adly on January 27, and he confirmed Shawky’s testimony, adding that he objected to the plan. He also said that they discussed “Plan 100” which stated that security forces should use any and all means to stop protesters from reaching Tahrir Square.
9 September, Friday
Hundreds of protesters gathered peacefully in Tahrir Square for a “Day of Correcting the Path”. Protesters demanded the government and ruling military council implement a permanent end to military trials of civilians, a clear timeline with exact dates for the military council to hand over power to an elected civil authority, cancellation of the new law that prohibits sit-ins and strikes (like this one), changes in police organization, minimum wage for public sector workers and wage caps on senior officials, and democratization of election laws. Similar protests were held in Suez and Alexandria.
After the protests in Tahrir Square, some of the protesters marched past the Israeli Embassy and subsequently began protesting the killing of six Egyptian boarder guards, ending in a break in of the embassy and an encounter with the police and military.
The military raided several stations, including the Cairo headquarters of Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr,, and the US-government funded network Al-Hurra.
11 September, Sunday
Students and staff at the American University in Cairo begin a protest and strike over school fees and contracts, respectively.
Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi was scheduled to give evidence at the sixth session of Mubarak’s trial, however he refused citing security concerns due to the Israeli embassy protests on September 9.
12 September, Monday
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Egypt. As one of the first Middle Eastern leaders to call for Mubarak to step down, he was greeted by cheering crowds.
17 September, Saturday
Egypt’s election commission head, Abdel Moez Ibrahim, announced that elections for the lower house, the People’s Assembly, will be held in three stages starting on Nov. 21 and ending on Jan. 3. Voting for the upper house, the Shura Council, will begin on Jan. 22, 2012 and finish on March 4.
24 September, Saturday
In a closed court session, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi gave testimony in the trial of Hosni Mubarak. The judge adjourned the trial until October 30.
26 September, Monday
Egyptian state television broadcast footage of Field Marshal Tantawi taking a stroll in downtown Cairo dressed in civilian attire and without security. One of the news anchors suggested that he was very popular and would make a good president. The station claimed that the episode was unscripted, using footage captured by a phone camera.
30 September, Friday
People gathered in Tahrir to demand a faster transfer of power and the legal end of the state of emergency, which SCAF claims is in effect until next year. This day was called, “Reclaiming the Revolution.”
CONNECTED in CAIRO 