‘We are all Awais Al-Rawi’ Egyptians post on Twitter

Social media users are comparing the shooting of Awais Al-Rawi by Egyptian police to the killing of George Floyd in the US.

On Wednesday, Awais was shot in the head in his family home in Luxor, Upper Egypt, by policeman after he objected to them insulting and abusing his father and entering the house without a warrant.

Floyd, a black American, was killed after a policeman kneeled on his neck whilst his colleagues looked on, earlier this year.

Awais’ death has also drawn comparisons with Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation sparked the Arab Spring.

The killing of Awais has further galvanised protesters, who have been demonstrating in Egypt’s countryside and Upper Egypt for almost two weeks now against soaring living costs and widescale house demolitions.

The demonstrations have been labelled the ‘galabiya uprising’ in reference to the traditional dress typically worn in the countryside.

READ: Egypt prepares for second Friday of rage

Social media users are posting under the Arabic hashtag, We are all Awais Al-Rawi, in reference to the We are all Khaled Saeed Facebook page, which was created to protest police torture and corruption and which went on to spark the 2011 revolution.

Khaled Saeed became an icon of victims of police brutality in 2010 after images of his battered corpse circulated on the internet.

Despite the fact that the 2011 revolutionaries asked for an end to police violence, it has got worse under the current regime.

Early in September protests broke out in Giza after a young man, Islam the Australian, died of suspected torture after objecting to a policeman insulting his mother.

READ: Egypt court sentences 6 men to death over killing policemen

Last Friday’s day of rage saw police kill 25-year-old Sami Wagdy Bashir in Al-Blida village in Giza Governorate with live ammunition.

Egyptians have today backed a call by whistleblower Mohamed Ali who asked them to take to the streets for the second Friday of rage, or for the Friday victory.

Ali asked them to fill the squares in main cities, which have so far been devoid of protests due to the large security presence, which he believes will have more of an impact.