He was the perfect symbol for a perfect revolution.

Six months ago Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in front of the local government offices in the provincial Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid.

Unjustly harassed and slapped across the face by a state official for trying to sell food from his market stall, so the story went, Mr Bouazizi had raged on social networking sites about the injustices of a corrupt regime and the lack of opportunities for Tunisian youth.

Weeks later, the young man died from his terrible burns and the rest is history.