An Irish student imprisoned in Cairo without charge, exactly one year ago today, has gone on hunger strike.

18 year old Ibrahim Halawa began his hunger strike on Wednesday after a mass trial involving over 400 defendants was abandoned.

Mr Halawa, from Firhouse in Dublin, was arrested last year alongside his three older sisters, who have since been released, following a day of protests against the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi.

His family are pleading with the Irish Government to intervene and have Ibrahim released as soon as possible. Halawa’s family have called on the Irish government, along with the European Union, to “bring him home before any other action is taken.”

Ibrahim's sister, Somaia says her brother was brutally beaten by police officers at Tuesday's trial hearing.

"They attacked him with a stick - an electricity stick - once you get hit with the stick, you get an electric shock. So they hit him with the stick, they beat him.

"That's a few hours before the hearing. They told them: you're not going to see the judge. Everyone's going to go back to their cells. Everyone just got really angry, and they got so upset, and decided ‘we’re not going to leave the prison … until we have our hearing.’"