Gaber Salah(Jika) (Photo: "We are all Gaber Jika" offical facebook page)
The Ultras "Revolutionary," a group of football fans associating themselves with the January 25 Revolution, are organising a demonstration in support of the family of Gaber Salah, known as Jika, in front of the State Council headquarters Thursday, in support of the lawsuit filed by former presidential candidate and rights lawyer Khaled Ali to recognise the slain activist as one of the revolution's martyrs.
Jika was killed in November 2012 during protests on the first anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud Street clashes with police. He was shot in the head and chest. No one has been held accountable for his death. He was 16 years old.
The lawsuit, lodged in May 2013 at an administrative court, is against then-president Mohamed Morsi and then-Prime Minister Hisham Qandil. Prominent leftist lawyer Ali legally represents the April 6 Youth Movement in which Jika was a member.
The Ultras "Revolutionary" requested all its members and affiliates from across the country to come to Cairo to partake in the demonstration, designating Cairo's central train station as an assembly point, in response to an appeal made by Jika's father asking for support for his cause.
Apart from the honour, state authorities pay a sum of money to the families of those recognised as martyred in the revolution.
Categorising the fallen as martyrs began shortly after the 2011 revolution, during which Hosni Mubarak's police forces opened fire on protesters, killing hundreds in a failed attempt to nip the national uprising in the bud.
After the fall of Mubarak, more protesters were killed in violent events under the interim rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Some of those number were also considered martyrs.
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