An Egyptian man set himself alight in central Cairo in an anti-government protest on Thursday, but was stopped before the blaze grew too severe, a security source said. Mohammed Hosni doused himself in fuel while another man filmed him making a speech criticising the government in Cairo’s iconic Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s 2011 revolution. But soon after he lit a flame, onlookers including private security guards wrestled him down and put the blaze out, and he was rushed to hospital suffering minor burns.
The security officer, who could not be named, alleged that Hosni had been recently released from jail for criminal cases, but gave no further details. The security officer accused the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood of exploiting Hosni.
Authorities have arrested thousands of Brotherhood members since the 2013 military overthrow of late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The Brotherhood has consistently denied any link to violence, but Egypt’s authorities call it a “terrorist” organisation. “The terrorist Muslim Brotherhood is exploiting one of its psychologically troubled members, forcing him to burn his clothes in an effort to foment chaos,” the security source said. In the video, Hosni said he was not a Brotherhood member.
