Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak, bound to a stretcher and caged, appeared in court yesterday before the judge announced a three-week adjournment and an end to live television broadcasts.

Judge Ahmed Refaat also decided to merge the trial of Mr Mubarak with that of his former Interior Minister, Habib al-Adly, as demanded by the lawyers of families of those killed in the uprising that toppled Mr Mubarak in February.

Judge Refaat put a halt to further live broadcasts of the proceedings, which opened on August 3 and captivated live audiences in Egypt and abroad. After a brief session, he adjourned the trial to September 5.

Mr Mubarak was earlier flown in by helicopter from a military hospital on the outskirts of Cairo and driven in an ambulance to the court at a police academy in the capital’s suburb.

As in the first hearing, Mr Mubarak was reclined on the stretcher in the defendant’s cage, exchanging brief words with his two sons and co-defendants on graft charges, Gamal and Alaa.

As proceedings resumed when Judge Refaat sat down, the former President lay with hands clenched together across his chest, while his sons tried to shield him from the television cameras.

Mr Mubarak confirmed his presence in a low voice, while the judge called for silence from the dozens of arm-waving lawyers packing the courtroom.

Some lawyers yelled “God is great” when Judge Refaat, after the recess, announced his decision to merge the trials and bar live coverage. “The decision was a good one, and it indicates the trial will be serious,” said one lawyer representing Mr Mubarak’s alleged victims. “A lot of lawyers came here just for television.”