• Technical problems have forced us to start a new blog, part one is here, apologies
• Hundreds of thousands of protesters rally in Tahrir Square
• Vice president Omar Suleiman gives new concessions
• William Hague visits Tunisia to back 'democratic hopes'
Jamal al-Hajji, a former prisoner of conscience who has dual Libyan and Danish nationality, was detained on 1 February in Tripoli by plain-clothed security officers. They accused him of hitting a man with his car, which he denies.
Jamal al-Hajji's arrest came shortly after he made a call on the internet for demonstrations to be held in support of greater freedoms in Libya, in the manner of recent mass protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa.
Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Director Malcolm Smart said:
"Two particular aspects of the case lead us to believe that the alleged car incident was not the real reason for Jamal al-Hajji's arrest, but merely a pretext to conceal what was really a politically motivated arrest.
"First, eyewitnesses have reported that the man who is said to have complained of being struck by Jamal al-Hajji's car showed no visible signs of injury.
"Secondly, the officers who conducted the arrest were in plain clothes, indicating that they were not the ordinary police who generally would be expected to handle car accidents, but members of the Internal Security Agency (ISA). It is the ISA that usually carries out arrests of political suspects and they wear plain clothes."
Prime Minister Francois Fillon's office said that the government also treated him and his family to a Nile boat cruise during the December 26 to January 2 holiday. Fillon said in a statement Tuesday that he wanted to disclose the information "out of concerns for transparency." His statement came after French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie faced probing questions about her holiday in Tunisia, which came amid popular protests that eventually toppled the country's dictatorial regime.
The opening line is
I heard them say the revolution won't be televised
Al-Jazeera proved them wrong, Twitter has them paralysed
It's been like nothing I've ever seen. We've had protests before but...today the whole square and the other streets [around the square] were totally packed.
This is a message to the world that this movement is not getting any weaker. This movement is getting stronger and everyone is determined that we cannot accept what is being proposed.
Salah also criticised the western governments he said are propping up a "despotic" regime and said the Egyptian people urgently needed western governments to change their stance to help the people get rid of Mubarak.
• On the two week anniversary of the start of the protests, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets once more to show their opposition to Hosni Mubarak's regime. Many say it is the biggest demonstration so far and protesters claim it shows that momentum of the demonstrations has not been lost.
• While Tahrir Square has once more been the focus of the demonstrations in Cairo, there appears to be a second front opening at the parliament building in the capital (5.36pm) where thousands have gathered amid talk of a sit-in. Demonstrations have also been held in other cities, including Alexandria, Ismailia, Assiut, El Mahalla El-Kubra and Suez
• A number of workers have walked out in apparent solidarity with the pro-democracy protesters (3.01pm). They include journalists and thousands of workers on the Suez canal and from Telecom Egypt
• The Egyptian vice president, Omar Suleiman, has offered more concessions to the protesters (4.41pm). They include a supposed plan and timetable for the peaceful transfer of power, a pledge not to pursue protesters and a new committee created to discuss and recommend constitutional changes that would relax eligibility rules governing who can run for president and limit the number of presidential terms.
• Egypt has released 34 political prisoners in another sign that it is trying to mollify protesters (3.12pm).
• Essam al-Aryan, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, told the Guardian the banned group has given Mubarak a week to resign (3.24pm)
• Lawyers have lodged a petition with the Egyptian prosecutor general alleging that Mubarak and his family have stolen state funds. They want the Egyptian president put on trial. (1.49pm).
This post from @Alshaheeed is being retweeted a lot:
Can as many people as possible go to the Egyptian Parliament now please?
#Egypt now protesters building tents to sit in outside Parliament building RT @ahmedsamih الخيام تقام امام البرلمان الان #Mubarak #Jan25
Protesters now are trying to link #tahrir with the People's assemble street. If this works. That would mean a real expansion. #jan25 #Egypt
@mosaaberizing
Okay, I lied. Can't stay at home with all the exciting news and a possible takeover of the parliment. On my way back to Tahrir..
A video on Bambuser is titled Sit-in planned at parliament.
The irony here, of course, is that Americans are on the side of protesters fighting a regime that the U.S. government has been propping up for decades. And it's an open question whether public opinion in the U.S. will have an impact on the Obama administration's Egypt policy, which has notably shifted in the past few days away from calls for immediate change.
Thousands r now protesting in front of the Parliament. Blankets r being transferred there now. An opn ended sit in to start.
I think that the Egyptian military has conducted itself in an exemplary fashion during this entire episode. Frankly, they have done everything that we have indicated we would hope that they would do. So I would say that they have made a contribution to the evolution of democracy and what we're seeing in Egypt.
• Mubarak will stand down in September, when his term expires and when new elections are to be held.
• A committee to recommend constitutional amendments to relax presidential eligibility rules and impose term limits. The panel to be led by the head of Egypt's highest appellate court and composed of six senior judges and four constitutional experts. It will make its recommendations to Suleiman, by the end of this month.
• A separate committee to monitor implementation of all proposed reforms.
• An inquiry into last week's clashes as well as the mass detentions of human rights activists and journalists. The findings willl be referred to the attorney-general.
• No constraints on media.
• Investigations of allegations of corruption and detention of those responsible for the breakdown in security.
• A lifting of the state of emergency "based on the security situation".
"I am not the hero. You are the heroes!" - Wael Ghoneim, Tahrir Square #jan25
Iran's opposition has called for renewed street protests next week on the back of the wave of demonstrations that have swept across the Middle East.
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the green movement in Iran have issued a call for what they have described as "a solidarity move to support the protests in two Muslim countries of Egypt and Tunisia" on Monday.
The green movement staged a series of mass demonstrations for several weeks in 2009, following a disputed presidential election that gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term in office. Tehran and other major cities saw the biggest popular uprising in the history of the Islamic Republic....
On his official website, Mousavi has likened the protests in Egypt and Tunisia to those in Iran in 2009. "Undoubtedly, the starting point of what we are witnessing in the streets of Tunis, Sana'a, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez should be seen in the Iranian protests," he said.
"The Middle East is on the threshold of great events these days that could affect the fate of the region and the world."...
It is unlikely that Ahmadinejad's government will give permission for the opposition protest, but the leaders of the green movement are using the request to reach out to the public. Iran's constitution allows for peaceful demonstrations.
The call has been welcomed by Iran's huge online community, which has alrewady started to promote it via social networking websites and in blogs. Flyers and posters are being designed by anonymous supporters of the green movement who have distributed them among internet users.
We are witnessing major change in the Middle East. The contours of what will emerge are not clear yet - they cannot be. But we do know that urgent progress on the Middle East peace process is vital, now more than ever....The search for a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has dominated the region for decades. Curerent developments must bring us closer to that goal, not further away.
Chant: Mubarak, you're a pilot, where did you get $70b? Rhymes in Arabic. #tahrir
Photograph: Wpa Pool/Getty Images We have made our views clear. We have called for an orderly transition to a more broad-based government....that allows the people to sort out their differences together in a fair and democratic way...The vice president Omar Suleiman has made some changes this morning which are moving in that direction.
Photograph: Paolo Aguilar/EPA My hope would be that other governments in the region - seeing this spontaneous action in both Tunisia and in Egypt - will take measures to begin moving in a positive direction toward addressing the political and economic grievances of their people.
Ahmed Ragheb of Hisham Mugarak Law Center says military police told him some 10,000 people detained in Cairo alone since Jan 25 #egypt
As al-Aryan put it to me the 'The Vietcong was negotiating in Paris while fighting in Vietnam'. They believe that the upper echelons of the regime is now collapsing and that Mubarak will go. They think it won't be too long. They want him to go with dignity, but it has been recognised that he can't hang on.
He said the concessions won from the regime is a sign that is weakening. He said 'this revolution can't be reversed' but he said they don't go far enough.
It is participating in these talks to give itself some credibility but it doesn't want to lose credibility with those on the streets. They are prevaricating in part because they slightly missed the boat [on the protests]. Their line is that they deliberately stepped back from the demonstrations, because they didn't want to scare the outside world. It is partly that they were caught off guard by the spontaneity of the demonstrations. It is clear from being in Tahrir Square the the Muslim Brotherhood only has minority support there. It is has jumped on the bandwagon a little late.
#jan25 #tahrir many chants by women & girls praise wartyrs of #revolution
This morning I spoke to Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas politician, in Gaza City about the Islamist organisation's response to the unrest in Egypt. He was very cautious, saying the protests were a "natural response to pressure from a cruel regime" but Hamas did not involve itself in internal issues in any Arab country.
"Emotionally we hope that the regime does not stay as it was before," he said, adding that Hamas wished to see a thriving democracy in Egypt. "We would like Egypt to be maybe like Turkey. We want a democratic country that allows everyone to express themselves."
Asked if Hamas allowed free expression in Gaza, he said: "Culturally Gaza is very open. We don't impose the hijab on women, we have good relations with Christians and leftist parties, and everyone is allowed to express himself freely. Of course there have to be security and political restrictions."
He did not anticipate similar protests in Gaza. "We have a regime controlling all of us - Israel is our common enemy."
Bardawi said Hamas was connected "culturally" with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, but not officially. "We believe that the Muslim Brotherhood have not had fair circumstances in which to express themselves. We hope the outcome [of the uprising] could include all parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood."
Protests could spread across the Arab world, he said. "If small Tunisia inspired big Egypt, what will happen if big Egypt succeeds? It will be like an earthquake that affects all countries around it."
"Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy issued an order today releasing 34 political detainees considered to be among the extremist elements, after evaluating their positions," the MENA agency said.
"They showed good intentions and expressed their desire to live peaceably with society," it added. It said they had handed themselves over to the authorities after escaping from prison during several days of disorder last month.
More than 500 of Egyptian media professionals issued a statement denouncing state-run media coverage of the youth-led uprising staged since 25 January calling for Mubarak's resignation.
Talk show presenter Ibrahim Eissa, press syndicate member Abeer Saady, novelist Ezzat al-Qamhawi, as well as notable artists, were among those who signed the statement.
"We renounce what has been done by print, visual and audio media of falsifying truth, lying and tarnishing the image of the people who seek freedom and progress for this country," noted the statement. It called for stopping what it labeled as "lies" and referring those responsible for urgent trial.
A lot of people on the ground are also commenting on the different make-up of protesters today compared to previous demonstrations.
There are a lot of egyptians visiting the square for the first time today. Well dressed upper class people. Lots of cameras out
There is more energy and optimism in Tahrir today than almost anything I've seen before - an aimless wander through the packed crowds is a dizzying, exhilarating experience, revealing a hundreds of little micro-dramas playing out all over the square.
It's so difficult to convey the atmosphere of this place through words or images; Tahrir may have dropped down the international media agenda somewhat in recent days, but honestly if you go down there and just stare around you - at the picnicking families, the raucous flag-wavers, the volunteer tea suppliers, the cheery human security cordons, the slumbering bodies curled up in the metal treads of the army's tanks, the pro-change graffiti that adorns every placard, every tent, every wall space in vision - it's impossible not to feel as moved as we all did in the very first days of this ongoing revolution.
As the streets appear safer and security more guaranteed, the numbers of those joining queues to enter Tahrir is growing, not falling - dozens told me today they were here for the first time. Politicking at the top may give the impression that the uprising has lost momentum, but clearly for many in Egypt it's only just getting started.
Blogger and activist Daliaziada tweets:
Wow! Another protest inside pro-government Rosalyusif newspaper against the editor. Viva #Egypt. Viva the #revolution. #Mubarak
Blogger estr4ng3d:
Roz Elyoussef staff protesting inside their campus, chanting against their chief editor
Just back from Tahrir. If numbers keep growing like this, these guys are going to need a bigger square #egypt
• On the two week anniversary of the start of the protests, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets once more to show their opposition to Hosni Mubarak's regime. Protesters claim it shows that momentum of the demonstrations has not been lost. Among those who have joined today's protests are various faculties from Cairo University.
• Protesters say they were inspired to turn out today by release of the activist and Google executive Wael Ghonim. The US has joined in those expressing relief and delight over his release. Ghonim is expected to attend today's rally.
• The Egyptian vice president, Omar Suleiman, has offered more concessions to the protesters. He emerged from a meeting with Hosni Mubarak this morning claiming the regime has a plan and a timetable for the peaceful transfer of power. He also said the government would not pursue protesters who have been demanding Mubarak step down now. And a committee has been set up to discuss and recommend constitutional changes that would relax eligibility rules governing who can run for president and limit the number of presidential terms.
• The UK foreign secretary, William Hague has arrived in Tunisia to show support for the "democratic hopes" of the people. He will be visiting other countries in north Africa and the Middle East during his tour to support "greater political openness", but not Egypt.
"They are so pragmatic they give pragmaticism a bad name," Hamid said.
There are long lines snaking along roads leading to the square.
I'd also just take issue with the statement that protesters say they were inspired to turn out by release of Wael Ghonim. Undoubtedly some were, but Tuesday is one of the two days a week when mass protests are scheduled and also a lot of the people I spoke to said they were there because they wanted to show the regime that they were not going to
compromise in the negotiations - that Mubarak has to go. They planned to turn out anyway, Ghonim aside.
Meanwhile, Ibrahim Yusri, one of the lawyers behind the petition alleging that Mubarak and his family have stolen state funds, told al-Jazeera that under the constitution the president has immunity but "this is a new era, this is a revolution". Yusri claimed the petition has the support of 40 prominent names. As evidence for the allegations, one of the sources he cited was the Guardian (Philip Inman reported last week that some estimates put Mubarak's family wealth at as much as $70bn (£43.5bn)). Yusri said:
Mr Mubarak and his family has ther right to speak and to explain either if they have gathered this fortune or [if] it's only rumours. We need verification...
We have asked the prosecutor general to verify....if the information is true and if it's true they must be prosecuted...and the fortune retaken by the people.
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