Egypt

Protests near presidential palace demand govt compensation, home ownership

Two protests were held near the presidential palace on Sunday, as released detainees demanded compensation from the Interior Ministry and Ain Shams residents claimed ownership of empty housing units they began squatting in during the 25 January revolution.

The Revolutionary Detainees Union demanded that they be compensated for the years they spent in detention and the enforcement of verdicts in cases they won against the Interior Ministry. They also demanded that they be provided public jobs, housing, medical treatment and pensions.

Demonstrators raised a banner that read, "Revolutionary Detainees Union … bread, freedom and social justice," and chanted slogans, including, "You who honored artists, where are the rights of detainees?"

In another protest in front of Military Production Stadium, residents of Tiba, a neighborhood of Ain Shams, demanded ownership of empty housing units they began living in during the uprising.

The residents demanded that they be given legal ownership of their apartments or be provided with alternative housing.

Ahmed Abdel Rahim, one of the demonstrators, said that they resorted to living in these apartments after the outbreak of the uprising. After Mubarak resigned, he said, the residents made sure the housing units had been unoccupied.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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