A man was arrested while attempting to set himself on fire outside the Egyptian parliament in downtown Cairo on Thursday, according to a security source.
Parliament’s security personnel arrested Saeed Abu Amany before he set himself on fire. He was turned over for prosecution, added the source.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar University has warned those considering such an act that suicide, for any reason, is banned in Islam.
At least five Egyptians have set themselves on fire in Cairo and Alexandria since Monday, protesting unemployment and living conditions in the country.
A new study issued on Thursday revealed at least 104,000 suicide attempts were recorded in Egypt last year.
The study, released by the Cabinet Information Centre and published by the government-run EgyNews website, found that around 67 percent of such attempts involved youngsters aged 15 to 25 years old. Around 90 percent were male.
Earlier this week an unemployed 25-year-old died after he doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire on his rooftop in Alexandria.
The self-immolation was the third of its kind in the country this week, but the first to result in death.