Azerbaijan: husband and wife attempt suicide in front of Presidential Administration
Protests related to self-immolation of Zaur Hasanov, December 2013. Photo by Tofik Babayev, AFP Getty Images
On Thursday, Jala Talibova and her husband Elchin Salahov tried to commit suicide by burning themselves in front of the Presidential Administration in Baku.
Head of the Burns Department of Clinical Hospital No. 5 Vukar Alakbarov told Azerbaijani BBC that the woman's condition was grave, and her husband's was satisfactory.
"As a result of self-immolation, Jala Talibova, born in 1981, received 3rd degree burns on 40-45% of the body. Currently she is treated in the intensive care department. Elchin Salahov, born in 1975, has burns on his back and on the left side, and is also kept in a ward, said the chief medic.
As said by Mr. Alakbarov, the married couple burned themselves with the use of gasoline to protest against the dismantlement of their home. According to the local media, Elchin Salahov is a veteran of the armed conflict in Karabakh.
The police department of the Sebayil district still haven't given any comments to the Azerbaijani office BBC office.
Earlier this year, another veteran of the war in Karabakh, Zaur Hasanov, poured gasoline and set himself on fire in front of the building of the Trade Union Confederation in protest against violation of his property rights, and died from severe burns.
After that, in the town of Yevlakh a veteran of the war in Karabakh Maarif Valiyev, having similar requirements, tried to commit suicide in the same way in front of the Yevlakh District Department of Labor and Social Protection Ministry.
According to the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan, in 2013 the country recorded 436 cases of suicide including 43 attempted suicides.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/azeri/azerbaijan
