Hosni Mubarak is gone – as are the revolutionary hopes that prompted Egyptians to oust him

Life in Egypt is now worse in terms of freedoms, human rights abuses and the ability to express any form of dissent, writes Bel Trew

We must not fall into the trap of mourning a gentler dictator (Reuters)

The protest lasted the duration of time it took to duck into a kushk – or corner store – buy a bottle of water, some cigarettes and stroll out.

It was 2006. Downtown Cairo, along Talaat Harb street, stretching dustily up to Tahrir Square, which in those days was just an annoyingly busy roundabout.

The feared blue police vans were shiny and new when they drew up. It was so many years before the Arab Spring uprising and the regular “clashes” between protesters and security forces that would batter the vehicles into their now misshapen forms.