Khaled El Nabawy, Ahmed Harara Join Sit-In at Culture Ministry

Yesterday morning, the ranks of artists and intellectuals staging a sit-in at Culture Minister Alaa Abdel-Aziz's office received some hefty reinforcement. Coming straight off the Ismailia Short Documentary Film Festival where his film "Fardy" was shown, actor Khaled El Nabawy joined those gathered at the Ministry in Zamalek to protest recent sackings.

Opposition activist Ahmed Harara also joined the sit-in. He was greeted warmly by the protesters, at the vanguard of which were producer Mohammed Eladl and actress Manal Salama.

Sources inside the sit-in also confirmed that a number of public figures had called into the protest expressing their support, including author Mahfouz Abdel Rahman and veteran actress Samiha Ayoub, who hadn't yet joined the protest due to a busy schedule shooting the show " Mazag el Kheer."

Protesters continue a near week-long sit-in, demanding the minister offer up his resignation.