Egypt: Pro-Sisi crowd attacks anti-Sisi protest with Molotov

A number of supporters of presidential candidate and military coup leader Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi attacked an anti-Sisi protest with Molotov cocktails on Saturday evening downtown the Egyptian capital Cairo.

The anti-Sisi protest has been organised by the “Against You” campaign, which opposes the candidacy of Al-Sisi for presidency and calls for releasing political prisoners held since the July 3 military coup.

Pro-Sisi crowds threw Molotov cocktails at the protest while it was marching through Talaat Harb Street in downtown Cairo.

Participants in the march chanted against military rule and for the continuation of the January 25 revolution.

The protesters called for the release of more than 21,000 political detainees, including the leftist female activist Mahinour Elmasry, who has recently been sentenced to two years in prison, and fined EGP 50,000 on charges of violating the protests law.

Former presidential candidate Khaled Ali condemned the verdict against Elmasry, stressing that she and other political detainees must be released.

Member of the Revolutionary Socialists movement Taher Mokhtar, a witness to Elmasry’s case, condemned the court’s violation of due process as it handed down sentences without hearing the defendant’s lawyers or witnesses.

Prominent activists took part in the demonstration, including Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Ahmed Harara.