Members of the April 6 Youth Movement blocked the road in front of the Giza municipality headquarters on Thursday, declaring Giza an autonomous governorate. They denounced police brutality and the beating of Hamada Saber outside the presidential palace last Friday.
Governor Ali Abdel Rahman said he welcomes freedom of expression, as long as it’s peaceful.
“Those young people must learn that Egypt will remain a single unity,” he said, rejecting their claims for the separation of Giza.
Elsewhere in Cairo, protesters disrupted traffic in the Gamal Abdel Nasser metro station downtown, aggravating commuters.
Demonstrators also staged protests outside the High Court and reportedly attempted to storm the complex. Traffic was disrupted on 26 July Street, but police dispersed the crowd without inciting clashes.
The protests come just hours before Friday’s mass demonstration called for by the National Salvation Front and other revolutionary forces in Tahrir Square. The demonstrators demand the departure of President Mohamed Morsy, the formation of a national salvation government, the trial of the interior minister and the annulment of the Constitution.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
