Egypt’s former autocrat Hosni Mubarak was flown from jail yesterday in a symbolic victory for an army-dominated old order that has overthrown and imprisoned his freely elected Islamist successor.

Egypt’s army-backed authorities detained the Muslim Brotherhood’s leader yesterday, signalling their determination to crush the group and silence protests against the ousting of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Meanwhile, Irish diplomats have yet to locate the four Irish siblings who were detained after security forces stormed a mosque in Cairo at the weekend.

The family of four Irish siblings detained by Egyptian authorities are “hoping and praying” they will return home within days.

The Irish-Egyptian siblings being held in a Cairo prison will be taken to a prosecutors’ office in Cairo at 2pm today, with a representative from the Irish Embassy in Egypt.

A 17-year-old Irish boy caught up in violence in Cairo and detained by the Egyptian authorities might have been “beaten to hell”, his sister has claimed.

Fears are growing for the safety of four Irish-Egyptian siblings held in military custody in Cairo.

Four Irish siblings caught up in the violence in Cairo are being held by Egyptian authorities, their family said.

It has been confirmed that four Irish siblings from the Halawa family are all in military custody in Egypt.

One of Egypt’s most feared government ministers today went on trial accused of ordering the killing of unarmed protesters during the uprising that removed President Hosni Mubarak.