Jaber Salah Jaber (Jika)

Despite his young age Jaber Salah (also known as Jika) was very active in the 6th of April Movement. He was Vice Manager of Mass Action in Abdeen area (near Tahrir Square), which was one of the most important committees within the movement responsible for organizing the protests and coordinating actions on the street.

He, third-year high school student was well known through famous photos of him leading protests in Downtown Cairo in 2011 and 2012, along with his bold speech outlining his demands as an Egyptian youth from the country’s leader and that the refusing of political developments does not serve the interest of the future of the country. He did not belong to the political sector but was against the decisions of President Mohamed Morsi. He was a supporter of presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abo Ismail and he protested against the constitutional announcement by President Morsi that would have the president’s benefits increased, but at the same time he was against the constitutional court disbanding the House of Representatives, saying that he does not support the president but can feel that a conspiracy is being plotted against him.

Jika was shot in the head while participating in the memorial of the incidents of Mohamed Mahmoud on the 20th of November 2012, during which the Egyptian police forces started shooting at protesters. He was moved to Al-Qasr Al-Ayni Hospital where his heart stopped numerous times. He was put on a ventilator machine for five days but it was in vain. The news of his shooting along with many others have sparked a widespread wave of anger and criticism for the president at the time, Mohamed Morsi. He was accused of not working to change the practices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in using live bullets to counter the peaceful protesters—killing them with premeditation and monitoring.

Jika died of his injuries on the 25th of November 2012.