CAIRO, Dec 16 (Aswat Masriya) – Egypt witnessed 714 protests in November, with the rate of one protest per hour, the Cairo-based Democracy Index said on Tuesday.

November saw a number of important events which triggered protests, Democracy Index noted, such as the anniversary of the Mohamed Mahmoud Street clashes, the acquittal of toppled President Hosni Mubarak and a call for protests to "impose Egypt's Islamic identity."

On November 29, a criminal court dropped charges against Mubarak and acquitted his interior minister over complicity in the killing of protesters during the January 2011 uprising which toppled his regime. The ruling was met with nationwide dissent and fueled numerous protests, especially among students.

Democracy Index counted 42 protests decrying Mubarak's acquittal on November 30.

The highest number of protests was recorded on November 28. The ultra-conservative Salafi Front, had called on people to take to the streets, while holding Qurans to "impose the Islamic identity", in what it called the “Muslim Youth Intifada”.

Civil and political rights topped protesters' demands, making up 64.7 percent (462 protests) of the total percentage of demands. Calls for social and economic rights ranked second at 35.3 percent (252 protests).

Students were at the forefront of protesting groups, with 31.65 percent (226 protests) of protests recorded. The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters followed with 31.51 percent (225 protests). 

According to the Index, 175 protests were counted in Cairo, 87 protests were counted in Alexandria, 52 were counted in Sharqiya, and 43 were counted in Kafr al-Sheikh.

Supporters of Mubarak and the current regime enjoyed all forms of freedom of expression, while their opponents were subject to "suppression", the Index noted in its report.

Democracy Index is a research project issued by the Cairo-based International Development Centre to monitor protests rate in Egypt.