23:50, 17 November 2009

Azerbaijan: tenants of would-be demolished house threaten to commit a mass suicide

Azerbaijan, Baku. The Maiden Tower. Photo by the "Caucasian Knot"

Residents of an apartment house at the central Baku have stated that they are ready to commit a mass suicide with the aim to prevent demolition of their house.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the dwellers of three five-storey apartment blocks located in the Geidar Aliev Avenue in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, were suggested back in August this year to abandon their apartments before September 1 and move into the new buildings in the Nariman District of the city. The dwellers are not against resettlement, but insist that the compensation should be fair.

Now, one of the buildings in question at No. 95/97 in the Neftyannikov Avenue is cordoned with a building fence; and policemen would not let tenants to their apartments, as reported by the "Rosbalt".

The residents are considering a group suicide - people threaten to jump down from the Maiden Tower, as the "Gazeta.Ru" writes.

As of November 13, as the tenants reported, for three days the house had been disconnected from gas, water and electricity supplies.