A protest led by women from the families of football fans who were killed in the Port Said massacre took place on Friday, demanding those responsible for the massacre be held accountable.
The protest began at two in the afternoon at the Opera Square in Cairo, where an estimated 50 people gathered. A small congregation of women led the chants, calling for justice and the fall of the current government.
The protesters were scheduled to join a march led by Ultras, which commenced at 3pm in front of the nearby Ahly club.
Samiha El-Kafray, a protester, said it was necessary for them to be present in Tahrir, in order to pressure the government into launching a serious investigation and trying whoever is found responsible for the massacre.
Other protesters felt this line was not strong enough. To Mir Mokhtar the onus lay on the entire government. “Starting with [President Mohamed] Morsy,” she said, “we must purge the government of evil people not only for the sake of the Port Said martyrs, but for all who have died since the 25 January revolution, which includes the train victims and those who have died in collapsed homes.”
A woman who called herself Fatma ‘Masreya,’ meaning Egyptian, said: “Morsy’s hands have been stained with the blood of the martyrs since he became president.”
Fatma also criticised the current Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, who has yet to try a single member of the Muslim Brotherhood for a crime. “He is their puppet and should be ashamed of holding his post,” Fatma added.
Mahmoud Al-Hadidy, a physician and respected figure at the protest called the Ultras a cornerstone of the Egyptian revolution; pointing to the times the Ultras have turned the tide against the police when security forces have attempted to regain Tahrir Square.
“We are here to right the wrongs committed by the government, the police and the evil people funded by the Muslim Brotherhood who sought to massacre our youth,” Al-Hadidy said, adding the police sought to break them, but in the end the Ultras persevered.
“This is the miracle of the revolution, whose high command is unknown for now but after two years we are still standing, we are still strong and we are gaining force.” He called the Brotherhood and Salafi forces “anti-Islamists” who were working against the teachings of Islam.
Protesters chanted for over an hour before marching towards the Ahly football club, calling for the downfall of the Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide and of Morsy.
“Down, down, down with Morsy,” the protesters chanted. “No Brotherhood and no Salafi, Egypt is for all Egyptians.”
A similar protest took place on Talaat Harb square, where reportedly hundreds of people gathered at the women’s rally and marched towards Tahrir Square.
