Thousands turn out for funeral of Egypt activist

Thousands of Egyptians turned out on Monday for the funeral of an activist who died overnight after he was critically injured in clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square last week. Gaber Salah, a member of the April 6 movement known by his nickname "Jika", was hurt in confrontations between police and protesters on Mohammed Mahmud street where protesters had been marking the first anniversary of deadly clashes. Some wept, others chanted for justice as Jika's white coffin was carried from Omar Makram mosque in Tahrir Square-- where activists have been camping out to protest President Mohamed Morsi's assumption of sweeping powers -- towards Mohammed Mahmud street, where violence has been brewing for the past week. Mourners comforted his devastated mother, as one protester carried a sign that read "Glory for Gaber." "It isn't acceptable to have such killings now. We refuse all sorts of violence," said longtime activist George Ishak who attended the funeral. "What is happening is a warning to Morsi that the country is in danger," he said. The funeral comes on the eve of rival mass rallies in response to a decree granting Morsi broad powers that are immune from judicial review and which threaten to deepen the country's divisions.