For there to be a dialogue between the government and the opposition, five human rights groups have set demands that they define as “the absolute minimum that must be met.”

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, and the Nadim Center have called for the release of political prisoners, an end to torture in prisons, financial compensation for torture victims, and criminal prosecution of torturers. They urged the removal of restrictions on the activities of NGOs, professional associations, and political parties. They also urged that press websites be allowed to operate normally and that media censorship end. They demanded the release of prominent activists, including Mohamed El-Baqer, Haitham Mohamedin, Ziyad El-Alemy, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, and Ezzat Ghoneim.