the egyptian revolution began on january 25, 2011-"police Day"-a public holiday that commemorates the role of the police in the resistance against the British occupation in Egypt. It started as a day of protest called for by a number of youth groups and activists, among them "April Sixth" and the Facebook group "Kulina Khaled Said" ("We are all Khaled Said"). The organizers of the protests on that day wanted to subvert the celebration of the police and turn the day into an occasion to indict the institution in charge of policing-in a sense, putting it on public trial. Primary among the objectives of the organizers was the removal of General Habib al-Adli, the then-minister of the interior, who had been in that position for 14 years and under whose leadership the ministry came to represent the most feared and despised apparatus of government. The ministry has been associated with routinized violent practices against civilians held in police stations, including torture and sexual violation, the internment of political dissidents by its state security organs, the surveillance of activists, the rigging of elections, and the protection of core ruling regime interests.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Salwa Ismail (2012) studied this question.