Suffering millions rise as one

Cairo: On June 6, 2010, Khalid Saeed, an Egyptian blogger, was beaten up by two policemen inside a coffee shop in the coastal city of Alexandria, according to witnesses. The two detectives then dragged Saeed, 28, out of the place and continued to brutalise him on their way to the city's police station, added a witnesses. One policeman bashed Saeed's head against a wall and then left the young man dead on the pavement. Saeed's death shocked the nation. Opposition cited the incident as yet another evidence of the "systematic brutality" of Hosni Mubarak's police.

The explanation provided by the Egyptian Interior Ministry for Saeed's death added insult to injury. The ministry claimed that Saeed choked himself on a packet of drugs during his brief arrest. The image of Saeed's battered head spread like wildfire on social networking websites. His sympathisers soon set up a Facebook page named after him. The "We All are Khalid Saeed" page generated an instantly big following and catalysed protests against Mubarak's rule. Saeed became a symbol of the turmoil.

The revolution received a fresh boost after the successful uprising in Tunisia.

On January 18, a baker from the Egyptian coastal city of Ismailiya set himself on fire outside the parliament in central Cairo in protest against alleged official harassment. His suicide attempt was instantly linked to events in Tunisia. A Youtube video posted by Egyptian activist Asma Mahfouz went viral in January calling for massive protests on the 25th in Tahrir square — a historic epicentre for Egyptian revolution.

"If you think yourself a man, come with me on January 25. Whoever says women shouldn't go to protests because they will get beaten let him have some honour and manhood and come with me on January 25. Whoever says it is not worth it because there will only be a handful of people, I want to tell him, ‘You are the reason behind this, and you are a traitor, just like the president or any security cop who beats us in the streets."

National security

On January 23, Mubarak showed up at the Police Academy on the outskirts of Cairo where he boasted about national security and stability. (Ironically, six months later, Mubarak appeared in the same place to stand trial on charges of ordering a deadly crackdown on peaceful protesters and corruption."

Defying heavy police deployment, thousands of Egyptians took to the streets nationwide demanding Mubarak's departure.

On January 27, Egyptian Nobel Laureate Mohammad Al Baradei arrived in Cairo from Vienna to join the anti-Mubarak demonstrations.

The protests reached a climax on January 28, billed the Friday of Rage, when pro-democracy demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square. A violent police crackdown inflamed protesters' wrath.

In the evening, Mubarak appeared on state television to tell the nation he had sacked the government and tasked the army with enforce a curfew.

His measures failed to calm down protesters. Mubarak again appeared on television on February 1 to tell the nation he would not seek re-election after his current term in office expired in September.

The following day, Mubarak loyalists riding camels and armed with sticks and machetes attacked protesters in Tahrir. The violence shocked world leaders who called for a peaceful transition in Egypt.

On February 7, Wael Ghoneim, a Google executive and a key leader in the anti-Mubarak revolt, was released from prison after 12 days. Hours later, a teary Ghoneim appeared on a talk show and said "I am not a hero. The real heroes are the ones who died for this country."

A defiant Mubarak, told the nation in a February 10 televised address he would stay on until the end of his tenure, but would transfer some of his powers to his deputy, Omar Sulaiman, appointed to the post 12 days earlier.

Angry protesters announced a march to Mubarak's palace on February 11 in what they dubbed the Friday of Departure. In the evening, Sulaiman suddenly announced on television that Mubarak had stepped down and given charge to the army. Egyptians went into raptures over the news of Mubarak's stepping down after 33 years in power. On November 28, Egyptians voted in the first free parliamentary elections, the Islamist Freedom and Justice party won a majority of seats. The third and final phase of polls will take place on January 13.