Residents of Azerbaijan go on hunger strike to demand dismissal of head of Masalli District

On March 27, in the Masalli District, located in the south of Azerbaijan, in 250 km from Baku, a group of local residents went on a hunger strike to express their dissatisfaction with the activity of the local administration.

During the hunger strike, its participants demanded to investigate the activities of Gazanfar Agaev and to dismiss him from his position.

"And this time we will hold our action till the end, until our demands are met. And the responsibility for the consequences of the hunger strike for state of our health and for our lives will be placed on Gazanfar Agaev, the head of the District, and on the authorities of Azerbaijan," said Mamedaga Einullaev, the head of the Masalli public association of intellectuals.

The participants of the protest action hold the hunger strike at home. "The authorities do not provide premises to hold the action in public buildings, and thus, each of us has to hold the action at home. It is expected that a lot of other residents of the District will join us," Mamedaga Einullaev has added.

The protesters have filed an appeal to President Ilham Aliev. They say that they will "conduct the hunger strike till death", until their demands to investigate unlawful activities of Gazanfar Agaev and to take appropriate actions against him are satisfied.

The authors of the appeal accuse Gazanfar Agaev of embezzling the budget funds allocated for the improvement of the District, using those financial resources for the development of his private business, depriving local entrepreneurs of commercial facilities and land plots, capturing water basins located in the District for breeding his own fishery, gross violation of human rights, mismanagement and surrounding himself with incompetent staff.

Till present, the authorities of the Masalli District made no comments on the beginning hunger strike of the local residents.