Tahrir Today

Here's Tahrir Square's new flagpole. It replaces the monument to the revolution's martyrs which was a rather unimpressive little sandstone structure that quickly attracted graffiti. It lasted about a year. They say this pole may not be permanent. Let's hope so, it seems rather unsubtle and dominates the area. As do posters of President Sisi's face that hang on every single lampost along the road out to the airport accompanied by the slogan 'Building a Better Future'. Try telling that to the 230 secular post-revolutionaries who have just been sentenced en masse - no individual trials - to life imprisonment following disturbances and protests in December 2011 against the army council which ran the country in the year after the revolution. Among them is Ahmed Douma, the leading light of the revolution's young, secular wing. He laughed and applauded mockingly from the dock as the hard-line judge who was also responsible for the Al Jeezera convictions handed down the sentence. It looks like the hammer is now hitting those at the heart of the revolutionary push. At least they tried.

This was taken from my car en route to the airport for a flight to Rome and then onto Barcelona.