Egyptians once again took to streets in the country’s capital to protest against a court ruling that has dropped charges against the former president, Hosni Mubarak.
On Friday, the protesters gathered at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, which was the epicenter of a revolution that ousted Mubarak in 2011, to show their opposition to the acquittal of the former president, press tv reported.
A similar protest was held in Abdel-Moneim Riyad Square, adjacent to Cairo's flashpoint Tahrir Square.
According to witnesses, the Egyptian police used batons to disperse the demonstrators, and arrested several protesters at random.
Various Egyptian groups, including the April 6 Youth Movement and the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, had called for protests against the court’s ruling.
Egyptian demonstrators held a similar protest on Tuesday. They condemned the military rule in the country and chanted anti-government slogans.
On Saturday, the court dismissed charges against Mubarak in connection with the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his decades-long rule.
It also acquitted Mubarak of a corruption charge. However, the toppled president will remain in prison as he is serving a three-year sentence at a military hospital for a separate graft case.
Seven of Mubarak’s commanders were also acquitted in relation to the deaths of some of the roughly 800 demonstrators killed during the uprising.
Egypt has been the scene of anti-government protests with continuous clashes between security forces and supporters of Mohamed Mursi, the country’s first democratically-elected president, since his ouster last year.