In Azerbaijan, invalid tried to burn himself down due to refusal of social benefits, his relatives say

In the Azerbaijani town of Evlakh, a 45-year-old Nizami Kerimov made a self-immolation attempt in front of the district centre of social protection of population in protest against the refusal to pay him the targeted social benefits, said his sister. The victim's condition is grave; he is conscious but cannot speak, doctors report.

"Nizami is an invalid; he receives a pension of just over 50 manats (63 US dollars). His leg is paralyzed. Gradually, he could walk from bad to worse; he has no other income, but he has three children; the youngest is three years old," Yazgyul Abdullaeva, Kerimov's sister, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her story, earlier Nizami Kerimov received social aid from the state, but recently they stopped paying it.

Let us note here that in Azerbaijan low-income families receive targeted social benefits. Khafiz Babaly, an economic analyst of the "Turan" Agency, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that there are abuses with the payment of the above benefits, but in recent years a number of district-level officials have been dismissed from office and prosecuted.

Let us remind you that on December 25, 2013, Zaur Gasanov, 42, made a self-immolation attempt in the centre of Baku, in front of the Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation. This was his protest against confiscation of his cafe. On December 28 he died.