National Police Day is a
national holiday in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
that occurs each year on 25 January.
The holiday commemorates and is a remembrance of the
Battle of Ismailia where 50 police officers were killed and more wounded when they refused British demands to hand over weapons and evacuate the
Ismaïlia
Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Ce ...
Police Station on 25 January 1952. The
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
surrounded the police station, then brought tanks in and took over the station. One of the major heroes of this battle was Captain Salah Zulfikar. The event was photographed by a local man and photos were published, inciting anger and riots throughout Egypt.
January 25 was declared as an official holiday in 2009 by Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...
to recognize the efforts of Egyptian police to maintain security and stability in Egypt and acknowledge their sacrifices.
When the
Egyptian police drifted away from their duty of keeping civilians and country safe and began humiliating people to back Mubarak's corrupt regime, a number of Egyptian opposition groups had chosen this day to start mass protests in 2011, which turned into a massive popular revolution which swept across the country on January 28. This revolution is known as the
Revolution of 25 January. President Hosni Mubarak stepped down from office, and the Supreme Council of the armed forces took over the governing of the country.
See also
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2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...
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Law enforcement in Egypt
Egyptian National Police or ENP is the national police force of Egypt responsible for law enforcement. It is a department in the Ministry of Interior (Egypt), Ministry of Interior.
National organization
The Ministry of Interior (Egypt), Ministr ...
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Public holidays in Egypt
Public holidays are celebrated by the entire population of Egypt. Holidays in Egypt have many classifications. Some holidays are religious and others are secular, while some can be fixed holidays on the calendar while others are movable. There ar ...
References
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Public holidays in Egypt
January observances
Winter in Egypt
Police days