CAIRO – Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak's health deteriorated on Wednesday, state media said, hours after he and his two sons were placed under 15-day detention in an inquiry into violence against protesters.

The official MENA news agency reported that the 82-year-old former strongman, in police custody in a Red Sea resort hospital, was in “unstable” condition.
His two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were transferred earlier Wednesday to a Cairo prison, AFP reported.
Mubarak's “health condition is unstable, and he is under observation,” the agency quoted a hospital source as saying.
A statement on the public prosecutor's Facebook page said chief prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmud authorized the detentions “as part of an inquiry into the use of force against protesters during the unrest in January and February.”
Mubarak has been hospitalized in Sharm el-Sheikh since Tuesday, when he reportedly suffered a heart attack during questioning by prosecutors.
MENA news reported that security was beefed up in his hospital room and he would be taken to a cell once his condition allowed his transfer.
His two sons Gamal and Alaa arrived mid-morning at Tora prison complex in Cairo, home to other fallen officials and some of the country's most notorious political prisoners.
MENA reported that Gamal and his elder brother were handed white prison uniforms, blankets and mattresses after they surrendered their cell phones.
They turned down breakfast and appeared to be in shock.
They are accused of incitement to fire at demonstrators during a popular uprising that lasted from January 25 till February 11 when Mubarak reluctantly stepped down. Nearly 800 people died during the uprising.
Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa were driven away in a police van with drawn curtains as an angry crowd of 2,000 people pelted the car with water bottles, stones and their flip-flops, a sign of disrespect in the Arab world.
“Brothers, whatever you wanted, you have got... 15 days,” said Major-General Mohammed el-Khatib, the head of provincial security in the South Sinai.
Gamal, Mubarak's younger son, was a senior official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before popular protests brought down the regime.
His increasing role in the government over the last decade and the belief that he might succeed his father helped galvanize Egypt's protest movement.
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Cairo, said that Mubarak's sons have already been questioned for two days at a courthouse near Sharm el-Sheikh. They arrived in Cairo on Wednesday morning and were taken to a prison where they are expected to be detained for the duration of the investigation.
At least 800 people are estimated to have been killed during the protests as police opened fire on the crowds. Authorities are now investigating government officials for their role in ordering the violence.
Gamal is also believed to be the architect of Egypt's privatization program and economic liberalization, which has brought in billions in foreign investment but has also widened the gap between rich and poor.
Many of his close associates were billionaires and held senior positions in the ruling party and the government. There are allegations that they used their positions for personal gain.
Mubarak hospitalized
Earlier on Tuesday, Mubarak had been questioned in hospital by prosecutors at the Red Sea town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has been staying since he was ousted from power by a popular uprising on February 11.
Mubarak, 82, was taken to an intensive care unit after suffering heart problems when he was being questioned during an investigation, state television reported.
It did not give further details about his health or about the investigation.
Asked if Mubarak was in good health, Mohammed Fathallah, the hospital's director, replied: “Somewhat.”
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cairo said that doctors have now announced that Mubarak is reported to be unwell, but in stable condition.
Khodr said that many people believe that Mubarak's illness was a ruse to escape prosecution, with many implicating the military in the rumored plot.
“A lot of Egyptians, particularly in Tahrir Square, said this is just ridiculous, this is a lie, it's a game ... they even accuse the army - the new rulers in this country in the interim phase - of actually orchestrating this to find some way out so Mubarak won't be prosecuted,” said Khodr.
News of the investigations, she said, will “ease tensions”, especially at a time when the army is being viewed with some suspicion by the public, who, as of late have been “questioning the motives and actions of the army, especially since the army has been detaining hundreds of activists”.
Egyptian security officials told the AP news agency that Mubarak arrived under heavy police protection at the hospital, which was picketed on Tuesday by pro-democracy activists.
Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, reporting from Sharm el-Sheikh, said that state security personnel and riot police continued to surround the hospital, where a small number of protesters were gathering on Wednesday morning, although the situation remained calm.
A military source told Al Jazeera's correspondent that a decision had already been made to transfer Mubarak from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo. It remains unclear whether the deposed president will be sent to a hospital in Cairo or a prison.
Most of the top officials of Mubarak's regime are now being investigated on allegations of corruption and abuse of authority. Although Iraq's Saddam Hussein and his close aides were prosecuted and many of them hanged after the U.S.-led invasion, legal moves against an ousted Arab leader without any foreign role in the proceeding has been unheard of in modern times, AP reported.
Mubaraks' probe is also seen as a way to help amend weeks of souring relations between the protest movement the Egyptian military, which took control after Mubarak was toppled. The protesters say the investigations are slow, and are outweighed by rights abuses by the new rulers.
They have also criticized the army for being too close to the old regime and not swiftly bringing Mubarak to trial while hundreds of protesters remain in military detention following a demonstration last month and others received swift trials before military courts.
Wael Ghoneim, one of the activists who organized the uprising against Mubarak, which started Jan. 25, commented on Mubarak's detention with a tweet: “Justice in action once again.”
Photo: Hosni Mubarak’s sons, Gamal and Alaa, were transferred to Tora prison complex in Cairo on Wednesday