Egyptians are protesting military trials this week, with the largest protest slated to erupt Friday.

Facebook Page We are all Khaled Said, which galvanized the protestors who brought down President Hosni Mubarak, is calling for a Friday of Justice for Revolution Martyrs.

The protestors are demanding the arrest of all involved in shooting protestors and a clean-up of the ministry of [the] interior.

Friday has been a traditional protest day throughout the Middle East and North Africa during the Arab spring. In the run-up to the 18 days of protests in Tahrir Square that ousted Mubarak, many protests were organized after Friday afternoon prayers, known as Jumma in Arabic, bringing Egyptian Muslims together at mosques throughout the city.

Activists say that although 30-year dictator Hosni Mubarak is no longer in power, Egypt's temporary military leadership is targeting political dissidents in military trials.

Over four months since Mubarak's fall, more than 7,000 civilians -- mostly political dissidents -- have been arrested, according to Mona Seif, an Egyptian democracy activist and founder of the group No Military Trials for Civilians.

Mosa'ab Elshamy was one of those civilians, jailed on May 15 after a late-night protest commemorating the Palestinian Nakba, or the 1948 creation of the State of Israel on Palestinian land, at the Israeli Embassy in Giza, a Cairo suburb.

They claimed people tried to break in. People were shot with live bullets and tear gas, Elshamy remembered, recalling that some 100 protesters were assaulted and arrested.

In trials like those conducted under the current Egyptian military leadership, Egyptians are often denied legal representation and contact with their families.

Elshamy's sentence was eventually reviewed and he was released on a warning to refrain from protesting and creating unrest. But he continues to participate in protests and maintain coverage of events as they develop in post-Mubarak Egypt.

As much as I fear for my safety, I strongly believe if we give up now, we are betraying those who gave their lives to see Mubarak fall, Elshamy said.

I don't think we can be afraid again after what we've done. We have to tell military Egyptians will not be humiliated again.

Elshamy was present at protests in Tahrir earlier this week to demand that Egypt's interim leaders not delay court cases against members of the old regime accused of corruption and repressive measures against the Egyptian people.

We are now working on purification of the military-on its use of secret police, harassing people in the street and getting away with it. There are still a lot of examples going on of harassment, he added, saying that the days of Khaled Said are not over.

Seif reported that since she helped start her group to stop military trials, shortly after Mubarak's fall in February, group membership has grown from 20 core members to 100, not including support from international organizations like the United Nations.

It took a lot of work to convince people that a lot of the people tried in military courts are not criminals, Seif said, explaining that many are activists, It took a lot of time to convince people that military courts are wrong.

Elshamy worries that injustice in the Egyptian legal system will persist as long as the military is in charge and driven to quell the kind of popular dissent that could further destabilize the re-emerging country.

We appreciate what the military has done for the revolution, but it's time for them to leave, Elshamy said.

Egyptians erupted into protest in Cairo today and plan to take to the streets late this week, both in North Africa and in the Tri-State area.

New York's Egyptian-Americans also plan to protest tomorrow evening in solidarity with their homeland.

One New York-based protest planned by a consortium of Egyptian-American activist organizations will run from 5 to 8pm, July 7th, at the corner of 1st Avenue and 47th street in Manhattan.

In addition to the demands made by their counterparts in North Africa, Egyptians living in the diaspora are demanding the right to vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming elections that will decide the fate of Egyptian democracy.

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