Thousands of Egyptians are gathered on Cairo's Tahrir Square for a so-called "second revolution" just three months following President Hosni Mubarak's ouster.
The activists are demanding the ruling military government quicken the pace of democratic reforms, including rooting out official corruption. They say military-leaders have included too many members of Mubarak's ruling party in the reform process.
However, Egypt's best organized political force has criticized the demonstration. The Muslim Brotherhood cautioned protest organizers against "driving a wedge" between the military and the people.
The ruling military council echoed that sentiment in a message posted Thursday on its Facebook page, warning of "suspicious elements" who want to divide the two sides. The army says it will steer clear of the protests to avoid any clashes.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities have been carrying out a sweeping investigation of state land sales in country's lucrative property market since Mubarak's February departure.
On Thursday, a court sentenced former housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi to five years in prison for involvement in an illegal land deal. He is the third senior minister of Mubarak's former government to be sentenced to jail for corruption.
The former president himself, along with his two sons, has been charged the killing of pro-democracy demonstrators earlier this year, as well as abuse of power and wasting public funds
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
