Seventeen of the 19 “martyrs” whose bodies were buried Thursday were convicts at large, says Magda Hilal, vice head of Egypt's forensic medical authority.

Egyptian revolutionary youth held a funeral service Thursday for the unidentified 19, who were initially believed to be protesters killed in the January 25 Revolution.

Hilal, however, sprang a surprise shortly after the service during an appearance on ONTV's 'Akher Kalam' talk show in which she revealed that 17 of those who were laid to rest had arrived at the morgue wearing the well-know jail blue uniform.

She believes they were probably some of the inmates who broke out of Fayoum Prison.

Around 1,000 youths are believed to have disappeared over the past few month in Egypt.

During the show, the father of one of the missing young men phoned in. He said he had gone to the morgue searching for his son but the 19 bodies’ features were “unclear”.

He stressed that he had been told about the prison uniform and added that the truth is yet to be revealed.

The 19 men were aged between 20 and 25. Most of them died from bullet wounds to the head, face, eyes and chest.

Police forces used live rounds on peaceful protesters in the early days of the revolt, which instigated the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak on 11 February.

Over 1,000 are understood to have been murdered at the hands of central security personnel. Hundreds have lost sight in their eyes after being shot by rubber bullets.

Mubarak, currently remanded in police custody at Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital, is accused of ordering the brutal attack on the demonstrators.

His younger son Gamal as well as former interior minister Habib El-Adly are also implicated in the crime.